Hi  II.  B.  Mlm  nm. 


LEBANON,  PA. 


Division, 


No. 


-     ^p-"-^ 

Teachers  and  Parents  should  impress  upon  the 
Scholars  the  importance  of  observing;-- 

1  That  this  Book  must  be  returned  on  the 
next  Sunday  after  it  is  received.  If  the  Scholar  is 
detained,  the  Book  should  be  sent  to  the  Teacher 
before  the  opening  of  School. 

2  That  the  Book  be  not  soiled,  torn  or  other- 
wise injured.  If  it  is  not  returned,  it  must  be  paid 
for  or  replaced. 


(J/oG^ 


Oh        § 


o 

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O 

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at 


Master-Missionaries. 


Chapters  in  pioneer  lEffort  tftrousftout 
t\)t  SHorltr. 


BY 

ALEXANDER    HAY   JAPP,   LL.D., 

F.R.S.L.,  F.R.S.E.,  F.R.G.S.,  F.S.A. 


"Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth." 

Matl.  V.  13. 


NEW    YORK: 
ROBERT   CARTER   AND    BROTHERS, 

530  Broadway. 
1881. 


©rtiiration 


TO 


DONALD   MACLEOD,    D.D., 


EDITOR  OF  "  GOOD  WORDS." 


Running  my  eye  over  certain  letters  of  yours — letters 
that  at  the  time  made  Red-letter  days  to  me,  and  in  a 
sense  do  so  still — I  find  that  in  one  of  them,  dated  on 
a  certain  14th  of  October,  you  wrote  thus: — "I  am  so 
glad  to  hear  of  certain  movements  in  the  firm  in  so  far 
as  you  are  concerned.  I  am  sure  nothing  will  tend 
more  to  strengthen  its  influence ;  for,  while  no  man  is 
perfect,  except  such  '  as  dwell  at  home  at  ease,'  yet 
some  are  both  efficient  and  to  be  loved  by  all  decent 
fellows  like  yours  ever,  D.  Macleod."  And  again,  later, 
on  a  certain  19th  June  : — "The  very  possibility  of  your 
parting  company  fills  me  with  anxiety.  No  fellow  could 
take  your  place  and  be  to  me  as  you  have  been.  Simply, 
it  must  not  be.'''  With  such  sentences  and  such  assur- 
ances as  these  before  me — so  fragrant  of  hope  and  pro- 
mise— what  better  can  I  do  than  dedicate  to  you  this  book, 
containing  some  sketches  which  received  from  you  in  their 
briefer  form, — and  more  especially  the  opening  one, — the 
warmest  and  most  appreciative  practical  welcome  ? 

ALEX.  H.  JAPP. 
London,  September  30,  18S0. 


CONTENTS. 


PAQB 

JAMES  OGLETHORPE  AND  GEORGIA       .          .          •         .          .  I 

DAVID   ZEISBERGER   AND   THE    INDIANS           ,            ...  82 

SAMUEL   HEBICH   AND  THE   HINDUS II3 

WILLIAM   ELMSLIE  AND   KASHMIR I45 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON   WALKER   AND   THE   CONVICTS   .          .  163 

ROBERT   MOFFAT  AND  SOUTH   AFRICA 226 

DR.   JAMES   STEWART   AND   LOVEDALE 255 

DR.    WILLIAM   BLACK   AND   LIVINGSTONIA    ....  274 

JOHN   COLERIDGE  PATTESON   AND   THE   SOUTH   PACIFIC        .  294 

JOHN   G.    FEE   AND  THE   FREEDMEN    OF   AMERICA          .           .  363 

APPENDIX 375 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE  AND  GEORGIA. 


ONE  day  in  November  1732  a  little  craft  weighed 
anchor  in  the  Thames  at  Gravesend,  with  a  freight 
as  precious,  and  an  object  as  heroic  as  determined  the 
sailing  of  the  fabled  Argo.  After  the  "  Mayflower,"  with 
her  cargo  of  pilgrim-fathers,  going  forth  to  seek  freedom 
to  worship  God  according  to  their  conscience,  and  to  find 
more  than  they  sought  in  the  founding  of  a  great  empire, 
this  little  craft  comes  next  in  order  as  an  early  maritime 
link  between  England  and  America.  We  may  well  love 
to  think  of  those  Argos  of  Anglo-American  history, 
whose  very  names  may  be  held  as  guarantee  of  a  love 
never  to  be  effaced  between  the  old  country  and  the 
new,  notwithstanding  little  differences  that  may  arise 
now  and  then  from  conflicting  interests.  Yet  there  was 
no  romance  about  the  little  vessel  She  was  but  an 
ordinary-looking,  roughly-built  schooner,  somewhat  dingy 
and  dark  in  aspect,  and  had  certainly  no  high-sounding 
designation.  The  "  '  Annie,'  Captain  Thomas,  200  tons 
burthen,"  is  the  register  she  would  have  in  official  lists. 
She  cairies  no  armament ;  for  peace  hath  her  victories 


2  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

as  well  as  war.  She  has  on  board  one  hundred  and 
twenty  passengers,  a  chaplain,  two  men  as  industrial 
teachers,  and  the  leader  of  the  expedition,  who,  by  dint 
of  indefatigable  labour  and  resource,  has  carried  his 
great  philanthropic  idea  thus  far  towards  realisation  and 
success — an  anticipatory  impersonation  of  the  idea  of  the 
"Captain  of  Industry,"  for  whom  a  great  English  his- 
torian has  more  recently  sighed  through  many  elaborate 
pages.  His  name  is  James  Oglethorpe,  and  he  is  a  man 
of  culture,  refinement,  and  great  practical  benevolence. 
He  has  already  served  his  country  well  in  the  field  and 
in  Parliament,  where  even  now  he  has  a  seat;  and  it 
might  seem  indeed  as  though  all  his  previous  life — even 
in  its  minor  details — had  been  providential  preparation 
for  the  great  work  he  has  now  taken  in  hand.  He  is 
tall,  stately,  soldierlike  in  aspect,  neatly  arrayed  in  the 
accepted  fashion  of  that  time ;  he  looks  in  every  point 
one  accustomed  to  command,  yet  his  features,  somewhat 
sharp  and  stern,  can  soften  into  a  smile  of  the  sweet- 
est paternal  attractiveness.  Honesty  of  purpose,  great 
decision,  and  generous  concern  for  others  are  written 
on  every  movement  and  expression.  As  the  result  of  a 
careful  study  of  old  newspapers,  Government  reports, 
and  pamphlets,  as  well  as  of  his  more  systematic 
memoirs — English  and  American — by  Mr.  Wright  and 
Dr.  Harris,  we  here  purpose  briefly  to  tell  the  story  of 
Oglethorpe's  long  and  remarkable  life :  how  his  earlier 
years  and  the  interests  that  engaged  his  mind  prepared 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  3 

him  for  his  great  enterprise  of  founding  the  colony  of 
Georgia,  which  was  more  a  benevolent  and  missionary 
enterprise  than  anything  else ;  of  his  work  there  and  the 
spirit  in  which  he  did  it ;  and  lastly,  the  tenor  and  the 
fine  influence  of  his  declining  years. 


I. 

James  Oglethorpe  was  the  son  of  Sir  Theophilus 
Oglethorpe,  of  Godalming,  in  Surrey.  His  mother  was 
the  daughter  of  an  Irish  gentleman.  There  has  been 
some  difference  of  opinion  about  the  exact  date  of  his 
birth,  which  even  registers  do  not  wholly  set  at  rest ;  but 
the  first  of  June  1689  may  be  taken  as  approximate, 
since  he  was  baptized  on  the  2d  of  that  month.  To  his 
mother,  it  is  evident,  he  owed  not  a  little.  His  father 
was  precise,  methodic,  a  shrewd  and  practical  country 
gentleman ;  she  imparted  something  of  elevated  ideal 
and  of  poetry  to  the  household.  She  was  a  woman  of 
rare  intellect,  as  well  as  of  refinement.  "  Lady  Ogle- 
thorpe," says  Mr.  Wright,  *'  seems  to  have  had  consider- 
able influence  in  the  court  of  Queen  Anne,  and  was  on 
intimate  terms  with  Swift.  She  was  a  thorough  Jacobite, 
and  appears  to  have  been  a  match  for  the  time-serving 
parson,  who  in  allusion  to  some  party  intrigue,  with  his 
usual  coarseness,  represents  her  as  *  so  cunning  a  devil ' 
that  he  believed  she  could  find  a  remedy  if  they  would 
take  her  advice." 


4  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

By  the  aid  of  imagination,  we  can  in  some  measure 
realise  the  childish  days  of  Oglethorpe ;  the  prim  and,  it 
may  be,  over-methodic  instruction,  the  lectures,  the  drill 
of  trivial  etiquette,  book  in  hand,  pursued  with  too  little 
regard  for  instincts  that  craved  contact  with  things  as  well 
as  with  words.  Luckily  the  associations  of  the  beautiful 
scenery  and  the  daily  round  of  out-door  observance  would 
do  much  to  compensate.  His  youth  was  spent  amid  the 
deep  domestic  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  reign  of  Wil- 
liam and  Mary,  and  there  was  then  little  at  home  to  excite 
the  military  ambition  of  a  boy's  heart.  But  news  from 
abroad  supplied  that  which  was  lacking,  and  which  home 
history  in  the  earlier  portions  of  the  century  had 
abundantly  presented.  Marlborough's  victories  were  the 
theme  of  talk  everywhere,  and  doubtless  Oglethorpe,  as 
a  lad,  listened  attentive,  open-eyed,  and  admiring,  while 
his  elders  discussed  the  details  of  Blenheim  and  Ouden- 
arde  and  Malplaquet.  We  know,  at  all  events,  that  from 
early  years  his  liking  lay  towards  a  military  life,  not- 
withstanding a  fine  taste  for  literature  which  was  early 
developed.  We  are  therefore  hardly  surprised  to  learn 
that,  although  in  1709  he  was  admitted  a  member  of 
Corpus  Christi  College,  Oxford,  he  did  not  find  a  life  of 
study  to  his  taste,  any  more  than  two  of  his  brothers  had 
done;  and  that  in  1710  he  joined  the  army,  as  a  gentle- 
man volunteer,  not  very  long  afterwards  assuming  the  rank 
of  ensign,  which  he  held  till  the  Peace  of  Utrecht  in  1713. 
Shortly  after  this  he  became  attached  to  the  suite  of  the 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  5 

Earl  of  Peterborough,  then  Ambassador  of  Sicily  and 
other  Italian  States,  and  is  believed  to  have  travelled 
southward  in  the  company  of  the  famous  philosopher, 
Berkeley,  whose  views  on  colonisation  and  philanthropic 
reforms  already  developed,  were  of  a  kind  to  have  met 
with  response  from  such  a  mind  and  heart  as  that  of 
Oglethorpe  even  then.  But  we  have  no  definite  accounts 
of  their  intercourse. 

In  1 7 14  he  was  transferred  to  the  Queen's  Guards, 
holding  the  post  of  Captain-lieutenant  to  the  first  troop  ; 
and  we  learn  that,  by  his  fine  bearing  and  grace  of 
manner,  he  soon  made  so  favourable  an  impression  on 
the  Duke  of  Marlborough  that  he  was  recommended  to 
the  Prince  Eugene,  to  whom  he  became  secretary  and 
aide-de-camp.  This  position  enabled  him  to  establish 
his  character  for  military  knowledge  and  resource.  He 
speedily  gained  the  highest  praise  of  his  general  for  his 
conduct  in  the  campaign  against  the  Turks.  It  will  be 
remembered  that,  though  they  had  already  suffered 
severely,  the  Turks  determined  to  renew  the  war.  The 
forces  of  Prince  Eugbne  were  again  in  motion,  and  a  blow 
was  struck  at  the  very  heart  of  their  power  by  the  siege  of 
Belgrade.  The  Turks  came  to  its  relief,  and  besieged  the 
Prince  in  his  camp ;  but  while  he  was  almost  given  over 
he  made  a  sally,  fell  suddenly  on  the  enemy,  defeated 
them  with  great  slaughter,  and  took  their  cannon, 
baggage,  and  military  stores,  after  which  Belgrade  at  once 
surrendered.     On  "the  1 6th  of  August  1717  the  capitu- 


6  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

lation  was  signed  ;  the  Imperialists  took  possession  of 
the  gate  and  outworks,  and  on  the  2 2d  the  Turks  quitted 
the  city.  This  was  the  closing  scene  of  that  bloody  and 
disastrous  war.  Oglethorpe  was  in  active  command  at 
the  siege  and  the  battle,  and  conducted  himself  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  have  been  reported  in  the  most  flattering 
way.  When  peace  was  declared  he  was  offered  rank  and 
station  in  the  German  service,  but  he  declined  it.  There 
were  no  very  definite  prospects  of  active  duty,  and  a 
soldier's  life  in  barracks  had  lost  all  its  attractions  for 
him.     He  returned  to  England. 

In  1722  he  succeeded  his  brother  in  the  estate  at 
Godalming,  and  was  fortunate  in  being  able  very  shortly 
after  to  secure  a  seat  in  Parliament  as  member  for  Hazle- 
mere — a  place  which  he  held  by  successive  elections  for 
the  long  period  of  thirty-two  years.  It  could  never  have 
been  said  of  Oglethorpe  what  was  said  of  Burke,  that  "  he 
gave  up  to  party  what  was  meant  for  mankind."  From 
the  first  we  can  easily  detect,  in  going  over  the  very  slim 
and  wholly  inadequate  reports  of  his  earlier  speeches 
which  have  been  preserved,  that  he  felt  the  irksomeness 
of  party-ties,  and  was  often  in  great  difficulty  on  account 
of  what  they  implied.  He  was  always  on  the  side  of 
liberty  and  progress  ;  and  a  fresh  and  vigorous  philan- 
thropic tone  makes  itself  felt  more  and  more.  His  first 
speech  was  against  the  banishment  of  Atterbury,  and  was 
worthy  in  many  respects  of  a  great  cause.  Smollett  says 
of  another  speech  on  the  King's  Speech  in  1731 — 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  Jr 

"Mr.  Oglethorpe,  a  gentleman  of  unblemished  char- 
acter, brave,  generous,  and  humane,  affirmed  that  many 
other  things  related  more  immediately  to  the  interest  and 
honour  of  the  nation  than  did  the  guarantee  of  the  Prag- 
matic Sanction.  He  said  he  wished  to  have  heard  that 
the  new  works  at  Dunkirk  had  been  entirely  razed  and 
destroyed ;  that  the  nation  had  received  full  and  complete 
satisfaction  for  the  depredations  committed  by  Spain  ;  that 
more  care  was  taken  to  discipline  the  militia,  on  whose 
valour  the  nation  chiefly  depend  in  case  of  invasion ; 
and  that  some  regard  had  been  shown  to  the  oppressed 
Protestants  in  Germany.  He  expressed  his  satisfaction, 
however,  to  find  that  the  English  were  not  so  closely 
united  to  the  French  as  formerly,  for  he  had  observed 
that  when  two  dogs  were  in  a  leash  together  the  stronger 
generally  ran  away  with  the  other ;  and  this,  he  feared, 
had  been  the  case  between  France  and  Great  Britain." 

The  cause  of  the  persecuted  Protestants  of  Germany 
lay  very  near  his  heart ;  and  he  brought  the  case  of  the 
distressed  Moravians  several  times  before  Parliament 
with  effect.  These  poor  people,  whose  only  offence  was 
that  they  wished  to  reform  society  by  beginning  very 
deep  down  with  the  individual  soul  and  heart,  and  were, 
by  their  creed,  indifferent  to  many  points  of  form,  and 
opposed  to  certain  requirements  of  warlike  states,  enjoyed 
no  rest  in  their  native  country.  They  looked  wistfully  to 
America,  but  the  new  colonies  were  more  or  less  martial 
in  their  character ;  in  this  only  too  like  the  political  con- 


8  JAMES  OGLETHORrE. 

stitutions  of  the  Old  World,  though  they  had  the  excuse 
that  they  needed  them  to  defend  themselves  against  the 
wild  Indians  by  whom  they  were  surrounded.  The  con- 
science of  the  Moravians  revolted  at  the  thought  of  that 
military  service.  When  a  petition  was  presented  to 
Parliament  to  relieve  them  from  such  service  it  was 
warmly  supported  by  Oglethorpe,  who  explained  to  the 
House  of  Commons  the  social  system,  the  Church,  and 
the  great  missionary  efforts  of  the  Moravian  community, 
showing  how  important  it  was  to  encourage  the  emigra- 
tion of  persons  of  such  pure  conscience  and  high  char- 
acter, because  of  the  influence  for  good  which  they  could 
not  but  exercise,  more  especially  upon  the  members  of 
a  society  as  yet  only  half  formed,  and  tempted  by  the 
inevitable  primitiveness  of  the  life  they  led  into  uncon- 
scious relapse  in  many  points  into  a  semblance  of  half 
savagery  and  indifference. 

Every  humane  and  noble  cause  exercised  his  heart 
and  head,  and  received  from  him  more  than  mere  sym- 
pathy. He  was  essentially  practical.  He  investigated 
every  question  for  himself,  taking  no  fact  at  second  hand. 
Whether  it  was  the  question  of  the  Porteous  Mob,  or  the 
relief  of  persecuted  religionists,  he  spoke  with  the  spirit 
of  a  man  ahead  of  his  time.  Social  improvement,  he 
clearly  saw,  lay  m  appealing  to  the  higher  self  interest  of 
the  people ;  and  this  is  well  proved  by  the  part  he  took 
in  one  particular  work. 

In  the  year   1707   a   company  had  been  started  in 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  f 

London  for  the  purpose  of  lending  money  to  the  poor  on 
small  pledges,  and  to  prosperous  men  on  good  security, 
with  the  general  aim  of  affording  aid  to  the  deserving. 
After  an  apparently  successful  career  of  several  years, 
the  cashier  and  two  of  the  chief  officers  were  guilty 
of  defalcation,  and  absconded.  Out  of  the  vast  sums  of 
money  which  had  been  entrusted  to  their  charge,  only 
some  ;^3o,ooo  remained ;  but  it  was  found  that  those 
who  had  connived  at  their  villany  and  had  profited  by  it, 
were  moving  about  safely  at  home.  Oglethorpe  exerted 
himself  powerfully  in  Parliament  to  have  the  matter 
thoroughly  investigated,  and  to  have  those  men  brought 
•to  justice.  Speaking  in  support  of  the  motion,  he  said — 
*'  For  my  own  part,  sir,  I  have  always  been  for  encour- 
aging the  design  upon  which  this  corporation  was  first 
established,  and  looked  upon  it  as  a  provident  act  of 
charity  to  let  necessitous  persons  have  the  opportunity 
of  borrowing  money  upon  easier  terms  than  they  could 
have  it  elsewhere.  Money,  like  other  things,  is  but  a 
commodity,  and,  in  the  way  of  dealing,  the  use  of  it  is 
looked  upon  to  be  worth  as  much  as  people  can  get  for 
it.  If  this  corporation  let  persons  in  limited  circum- 
stances have  the  use  of  money  at  a  cheaper  rate  than 
individuals,  brokers,  or  moneylenders  would  be  willing 
to  do,  it  certainly  was  a  beneficent  act.  If  they  had 
demanded  more  than  was  elsewhere  given,  they  would 
not  have  had  applicants,  and  the  design  would  not 
have   proved  good    and   useful.     But  the   utility  of  it 


lo  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

was  most  evident ;  and  ttie  better  the  design,  and  the 
more  excellent  the  benefit,  the  more  those  persons  deserve 
to  be  punished,  who,  by  their  frauds,  have  curtailed,  if  not 
wholly  cut  off,  these  sources  of  furnishing  assistance  to  the 
industrious  and  enterprising,  and  disappointed  the  public 
reaping  of  the  benefit  which  might  have  accrued  by  an 
honest  and  faithful  execution  of  so  good  an  undertaking." 
It  has  been  well  said  that  a  man's  character  is  best 
ascertained  from  knowing  the  sources  in  which  he 
finds  his  pleasures.  Oglethorpe's  pleasures  were  all  in 
benevolent  enterprises ;  and  accident  or  providence,  all 
through  his  life,  as  through  the  lives  of  many  others,  was 
constantly  giving  indications  of  new  paths  of  activity. 
His  great  practical  forecast,  and  his  determination, 
enabled  him  to  connect  together  what,  in  the  hands  of  a 
less  capable  man,  might  have  been  only  dissipating  to 
his  powers.  The  next  spur  to  his  energies  was  of  a  very 
decided  kind.  A  gentleman  named  Robert  Castell,  who 
had  showed  much  ingenuity  in  mechanics  and  skill  in 
architecture,  had  been  subject  to  losses,  and  was  at  last 
cast  into  the  debtors'  prison  of  the  Fleet  He  was  by 
and  by  carried  to  a  sponging-house  in  connection  with 
the  prison,  kept  by  a  man  named  Corbett,  an  underling 
of  Bambridge,  the  warder.  After  a  time,  and  so  long  as 
any  fragment  of  his  means  remained,  or  friends  were 
inclined  to  come  thus  far  to  his  aid,  he  enjoyed  the 
liberty  of  the  rules ;  but,  all  resources  failing  wherewith 
to  bribe  Bambridge  further,  he  was  ordered  to  be  recom- 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  rr 

mitted  to  Corbett's,  where  at  the  time  the  small-pox 
raged  with  great  intensity.  In  vain  poor  Castell  urged 
that  he  had  never  had  the  .small-pox,  and  was  sure  to 
become  infected.  He  was  removed,  and  in  a  very  short 
time  died  in  Corbett's  house.  Oglethorpe,  who  knew 
Castell  and  had  visited  him,  heard  the  story  and  was 
greatly  moved  by  it.  He  resolved,  in  his  usual  way, 
quietly  to  see  things  for  himself ;  and  finding  that  one 
with  whom  he  had  had  some  acquaintance  was  now  in 
confinement  there,  he  resolved  to  make  a  visit  to  this 
gentleman  a  pretext  for  seeing  the  prison  and  of  so  far 
examining  how  matters  stood.  It  was  indeed  a  revela- 
tion to  him.  Numbers  of  men  who  had  formerly  been 
in  good  positions  were  now  to  be  seen  here  in  most 
miserable  plight,  ragged,  filthy,  half-starved,  and  often  in 
heavy  chains.  In  some  instances  their  reason  had  gone 
or  was  beginning  to  fail.  The  only  channel  of  escape  from 
such  treatment  was  through  bribes,  by  which  Bambridge 
and  his  minions  were  rapidly  enriching  themselves. 

The  wardenship  of  the  Fleet,  as  it  was  afterwards 
proved,  had  been  regularly  put  up  for  sale.  It  had  been 
bought  from  the  great  Lord  Clarendon  by  John  Higgins 
for  ;!C5°o°>  ^"d  ^t  ^^^  '^cen  sold  by  Higgins  to  this 
Bambridge  for  the  same  sum  in  1728;  and  these  men 
were  accustomed,  in  addition  to  the  large  emoluments  of 
their  office,  to  exact  heavy  fees  from  the  prisoners,  and  to 
avenge  themselves  upon  those  who  were  unable  or  unwil- 
ling to  pay  them  by  the  utmost  excesses  of  brutality. 


12  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

The  condition  of  Sir  William  Rich,  whom  Oglethorpe 
had  ostensibly  gone  to  see,  was  as  bad  as  any.  He  was 
loaded  with  chains,  deprived,  not  only  of  ordinary  com- 
forts and  decencies,  but  even  of  the  necessaries  of  life, 
and  treated  in  ever}'thing  as  a  common  malefactor,  and 
^orse — far  worse — than  the  worst  malefactor  would  be 
treated  in  our  time.  Oglethorpe  determined  to  make  a 
movement  for  reform,  to  demand  investigation,  and  the 
dismissal  and  the  punishment  of  those  who  were  guilty 
of  such  abuses,  cruelties,  and  base  breaches  of  trust. 
He  brought  the  matter  before  Parliament  in  speeches 
that  displayed  not  only  tact  but  eloquence,  "many 
of  his  sentences  going  straight  to  the  heart."  His 
motion  prevailed;  a  commission  was  appointed  to 
inquire  into  the  condition  of  the  prisons.  Oglethorpe 
was  named  its  chairman,  and  right  well  did  he  do 
his  work. 

Sir  William  Rich  was  one  of  those  summoned  before 
the  commission  to  give  evidence ;  and  the  daring  of  Bam- 
bridge  was  afterwards  shown  in  an  extraordinary  manner. 
Rich  had  appeared  in  chains,  put  on  because  of  some 
difference  with  Bambridge ;  and  these  the  commission 
ordered  to  be  taken  off.  No  sooner,  however,  did  the 
commission  withdraw,  than  Bambridge,  in  defiance  of 
their  order,  put  them  on  again.  For  this,  on  Ogle- 
thorpe's representation,  he  was  committed  to  the  charge 
of  the  serjeant-at-arms. 

The  sufferings  undergone  in  these  prisons  were  literally 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  13 

beyond  description.  Women  were  left  without  beds, 
without  attendance  or  nourishment,  till  they  died  of 
neglect  \  men  were  tortured  by  thumbscrews  and  other 
engines  of  torment.  One  poor  Portuguese  had  been  for 
two  months  under  irons  so  heavy  that  he  could  not  rise. 
Another  prisoner  had  lost  all  memory  and  the  use  of  his 
limbs.  One  brave  soldier  had  been  falsely  accused  of 
theft,  and  though  he  was  acquitted  by  the  jury,  he  was 
seized  and  imprisoned  as  a  debtor  because  he  could  not 
discharge  the  jail-fees  claimed  on  account  of  his  deten- 
tion. It  was  calculated  that  at  this  date  there  were  over 
24,000  debtors  languishing  in  prison,  and  that  one  man 
out  of  every  four  men  died  annually. 

Oglethorpe  was  indefatigable,  continually  engaged  in 
visiting  prisons,  examining  and  receiving  reports.  The 
corrupt  practices  and  the  base  treatment  of  prisoners 
which  had  been  so  common  were  traced  home  to  many 
of  the  guilty  parties,  who  were  prosecuted  with  the  utmost 
rigour.  But  Oglethorpe  felt  that  the  work  was  not  fin- 
ished. He  knew  that  in  all  such  cases  the  tendency  to 
relapse  was  great,  and  he  took  care  to  provide  against 
this  by  such  effective  means  as  only  an  energetic  practical 
mind  such  as  his  was  likely  to  devise.  Progress  in  this, 
as  in  all  such  matters,  was  slow ;  and  in  the  meantime 
jail-fever  was  sending  its  own  reports  from  the  provinces. 
So  late  as  the  year  1730,  jail-fever  broke  out.  In  that 
year  Chief  Baron  Pengelly,  Serjeant  Shippen,  and  many 
others  were  killed  by  it,  when  attending  the  Dorsetshire 


14  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

Assizes,   and    the   High   Sheriff  of  Somerset   perished 
through  the  same  cause. 

One  result  of  Oglethorpe's  efforts  was  that  numbers  of 
those  who  had  suffered  especially  in  the  debtors'  prison 
were  set  free,  and  it  was  a  difificult  matter  to  reinstate 
them  in  society  or  to  find  suitable  work  for  them.  While 
Oglethorpe  was  earnestly  engaged  in  this  work,  he  became 
Deputy  Governor  of  the  Eoyal  African  Company,  of 
which  he  had  been  for  a  short  time  a  director.  The 
knowledge  which  he  gained  through  this  office  excited 
in  him  a  keen  interest  in  the  native  races  with  which, 
through  our  passion  for  colonising,  we  were  then,  as  now, 
brought  continually  into  contact,  and  also  suggested  that 
in  some  points  the  ordinary  methods  of  dealing  with 
them  were  neither  the  wisest  nor  the  most  profitable. 

One  incident  seems  to  have  had  a  powerful  effect 
later  in  determining  Oglethorpe's  energy  in  certain 
directions.  He  became  the  friend  of  a  man — once  a 
prince  in  his  own  country — who  had  been  carried  into 
slavery,  and  escaped  and  was  cast  into  prison.  His 
demeanour  there  attracted  the  notice  of  the  officials. 
He  was  observed  to  write  on  scraps  of  paper,  and  through 
the  kindness  of  the  prison  officials  he  was  enabled  to 
gratify  his  desire  to  write  to  his  father  to  "  tell  what  con- 
dition he  had  fallen  into."  One  of  these  strips  of  paper 
was  sent  home  to  the  Governor  of  the  Royal  African 
Company,  who  gave  it  to  Oglethorpe.  He  sent  it  to 
the  University  of  Oxford  to  be  translated,  and  was  so 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  15 

Struck  by  the  piteous  tone  of  it,  that  he  at  once  wrote  out 
instructing  the  agent  for  the  African  Company  to  free 
Job — for  that  was  the  man's  name — and  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  his  voyage  and  accommodation  to  England. 
Job  was  gifted  and  intelligent,  and  grateful  for  the  care 
and  kindness  extended  to  him.  His  knowledge  of 
Arabic  rendered  him  of  service  to  Sir  Hans  Sloane,  who 
employed  him  in  translating  Arabic  manuscripts,  inscrip- 
tions on  coins,  &c.  His  native  place  was  Bunda,  a  city 
of  Galumbo,  in  the  kingdom  of  Futa  in  Central  Africa, 
opposite  to  Tombuto.  Ibrahim,  Job's  grandfather,  was 
founder  of  the  city,  and  to  his  dignity  Job  succeeded  on 
returning  home  after  these  romantic  wanderings.  The 
lessons  that  he  had  learned — more  especially  the  kind- 
nesses and  the  counsels  of  Oglethorpe — were  not  forgot- 
ten; and  certainly  the  lessons  of  Job's  story  were  not  lost 
on  Oglethorpe,  but  bore  fruit  in  the  additional  interest 
he  was  led  to  take  in  native  races,  and  his  desire  to  im- 
prove their  condition,  as  well  as  in  his  hatred  of  slavery, 
which  was  so  pronounced  that  he  might  well  be  named 
a  precursor  of  Clarkson  and  Wilberforce. 

These  were  the  questions  which  were  pressing  them- 
selves on  Oglethorpe's  mind,  when  there  happily  arose 
upon  him  the  idea  of  founding  a  colony  in  America 
which  should  especially  afford  a  refuge  for  distressed 
debtors  and  for  persecuted  German  Protestants,  and 
which  should  also,  in  effect,  present  the  conditions  for  a 
more  systematic  effort  than  had  yet  been  made  to  con- 


16  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

vert  and  to  civilise  the  Indians.  He  had  also  resolved 
that  it  should  prove  the  possibility  of  carrying  on  profit- 
ably the  work  proper  to  it  without  the  aid  of  slave- 
labour.  Oglethorpe's  efforts  to  get  the  proper  patronage 
and  support  for  his  scheme  were  unremitting.  He 
worked  night  and  day;  he  waited  by  the  doors  of 
influential  Members  of  Parliament  and  Ministers  of  the 
Crown  ;  he  petitioned  the  Bank  of  England  and  powerful 
Corporations ;  he  sought  interviews  with  wealthy  philan- 
thropic men  and  with  the  heads  of  distinguished  societies. 
But  earnest  as  were  his  appeals,  and  feasible  as  he  had 
proved  his  project  to  be,  objectors  were  not  wanting. 
I'o  answer  them  in  pamphlets  and  otherwise  he  stirred 
up  his  friends ;  his  own  inclinations  lying  towards  work  in 
other  directions,  though  neither  was  his  pen  wholly  idle. 
Mr.  Benjamin  Martin,  who  was  a  kind  of  secretary  to 
Oglethorpe,  and  afterwards  Secretary  to  the  Trustees  of 
Georgia  at  home,  in  this  respect  did  good  service  in  his 
"Reasons  for  Establishing  the  Colony  of  Georgia."  An 
argument  which  has  often  been  heard  in  recent  years 
was  then  raised  even  with  reference  to  imprisoned 
debtors.  By  such  emigration  schemes  you  take  away, 
it  was  said,  from  their  own  country  those  whose  labour 
is  wanted  at  home,  and  thus  the  price  of  labour  must 
be  unnaturally  raised.  To  this  Mr.  Martin  aptly 
replied — 

"  Those  at  all  events  who  are  shut  up  in  prison  are 
certainly  doing  no  service  either  to  their  country  or  to 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE,  17 

themselves.  They  are  thrown  among  associations  whose 
vile  influence  would  mortally  deprave  them,  while 
poverty  and  despair  were  the  only  portion  they  could 
give  to  their  wives  and  children." 

Mr.  Martin  agreed  with  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  in 
estimating  that  the  number  of  men  thus  lost  to  their 
country  and  to  their  families  was  no  fewer  than  four 
thousand  a  year. 

Oglethorpe  had  urged  a  more  philanthropic  aspect  of 
the  proposal — 

"  They  who  are  oppressed  with  poverty  and  misfortune 
are  unable  to  be  at  the  charge  of  removing  from  their 
miseries.  Those  are  the  people  intended  to  be  relieved. 
Let  us  cast  our  eyes  on  the  multitude  of  unfortunate 
people  in  the  kingdom,  of  reputable  families,  and  of 
liberal,  or  at  least,  easy  education;  some  undone  by 
guardians,  some  by  lawsuits,  some  by  accidents  in 
commerce,  some  by  stocks  and  bubbles,  and  some  by 
suretiship.  But  all  agree  in  this  circumstance,  that  they 
must  either  be  burdensome  to  their  relatives,  or  betake 
themselves  to  little  shifts  for  sustenance,  which,  it  is  ten 
to  one,  do  not  answer  their  purpose,  and  to  which  a 
well-educated  mind  descends  with  the  utmost  constraint. 
What  various  misfortunes  may  reduce  the  rich,  the 
industrious,  to  the  dangers  of  a  prison,  to  a  moral 
certainty  of  starving !  Those  are  the  people  that  may 
relieve  themselves,  and  strengthen  Georgia,  by  resorting 
thither,  and  Great  Britain  by  their  departure. 


|8  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

"I  appeal  to  the  recollection  of  the  reader — though 
he  be  opulent,  though  he  be  noble ;  does  not  his  own 
sphere  of  acquaintances  furnish  him  with  some  instances 
of  such  persons  as  have  been  here  described?  Must 
they  starve  ?  What  honest  heart  can  bear  to  think  of 
it  ?  Must  they  be  fed  by  the  contributions  of  others  ? 
Certainly  they  must,  rather  than  be  suffered  to  perish. 
I  have  heard  it  said,  and  it  is  easy  to  say  so,  '  Let  them 
learn  to  work ;  let  them  subdue  their  pride,  and  descend 
to  mean  employments  ;  keep  ale-houses  or  coffee-houses, 
even  sell  fruit  or  clean  shoes,  for  an  honest  livelihood.' 
But,  alas  !  these  occupations  and  many  others  like  them 
are  overstocked  already  by  people  who  know  better  how 
to  follow  them  than  do  they  whom  we  have  been  talking 
of.  As  for  labouring,  I  could  almost  wish  that  the 
gentleman  or  merchant  who  thinks  that  another  gentle- 
man or  merchant  in  want  can  thrash  or  dig  to  the  value 
of  subsistence  for  his  family,  or  even  for  himself;  I  say 
I  could  wish  the  person  who  thinks  so  were  obliged  to 
make  trial  of  it  for  a  week,  or — not  to  be  too  severe — for 
only  a  day.  He  would  then  find  himself  to  be  less  than 
the  fourth  part  of  a  labourer,  and  that  the  fourth  part  of 
a  labourer's  wage  would  not  maintain  him.  I  have 
heard  a  man  may  learn  to  labour  by  practice ;  'tis 
admitted.  But  it  must  also  be  admitted  that  before 
he  can  learn  he  may  starve.  Men  whose  wants  are 
importunate  must  try  such  expedients  as  will  give  im- 
mediate relief     'Tis  too  late  for  them  to  begin  to  learn 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  rg 

a  trade   when   their    pressing    necessities   call   for   the 
exercise  of  it." 

A  general  interest  was  awakened,  and  twenty-one 
associations  petitioned  for  an  Act  of  Incorporation,  which 
was  granted  by  letters-patent  on  the  9th  of  June  1732, 
for  the  reason  that  many  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  were 
in  want  of  employment,  reduced  to  distress,  and  would 
be  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  cultivate  the  waste  lands 
in  America,  where  they  might  earn  a  subsistence  for 
themselves,  and  aid  to  extend  the  trade,  navigation,  and 
wealth  of  England.  The  trustees  were  vested  with  the 
powers  of  legislation  for  twenty-one  years,  after  which  a 
permanent  form  of  government  was  to  be  established, 
corresponding  with  the  British  laws,  by  the  King  or  his 
successors.  Lord  Perceval  was  elected  president  of  the 
corporation.  As  large  expenditures  were  necessary,  the 
trustees  set  an  example  of  liberality  by  their  private 
subscriptions ;  the  directors  of  the  BanTc  of  England 
followed  their  example ;  the  friends  of  humanity  ex- 
pressed their  interest  in  the  work  by  numerous  gifts  ; 
the  House  of  Commons,  sharing  the  general  enthusiasm, 
made  a  grant  of  nearly  ten  thousand  pounds  ;  *  and  the 

*  The  grant  for  that  Bermuda  College  which  Bishop  Berkeley  had 
so  persistently  aimed  at  establishing,  and  in  which  he  would  no  doubt 
have  succeeded  but  for  the  indifference  of  Walpole — in  which,  as 
Swift  told  Lord  Carteret,  "he  most  exorbitantly  proposes  a  whole 
hundred  pounds  a  year  for  himself,  fifty  pounds  for  a  fellow,  and 
ten  for  a  student,"  adding,  "  his  heart  will  break  if  the  Deanery  be 
Bot  taken  from  him,  and  left  to  your  excellency's  disposal "  (Prof 
Fraser's  Berkeley's  Life  and  Works,  voL  iv.  pp.  102,  186) — strangely 


so  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

whole  sum  collected  almost  without  solicitation  amounted 
to  thirty-six  thousand.  The  trustees,  to  their  credit, 
urged  that  a  clause  should  be  put  into  the  Charter 
restraining  them  or  their  successors  from  accepting  any 
salary,  gift,  or  perquisites  whatever ;  not  even  permitting 
them  to  receive  a  grant  of  land  under  any  circumstances 
in  the  settlement  proposed.  Well  may  Mr.  Peabody  say 
that  the  perfect  disinterestedness  of  their  conduct 
distinguished  the  enterprise  from  all  others  of  the  kind 
yet  recorded  in  history.  * 

"  No  wonder,"  as  one  writes,  "  that  great  Numbers  of 
poor  Subjects,  who  lay  under  a  Cloud  of  Misfortunes, 
embraced  the  Opportunity  of  once  more  tasting  Liberty 
and  Happiness ;  that  Jews,  attracted  by  the  Temptation 
of  Inheritances,  flocked  over;  that  Germans,  oppressed 
and  dissatisfied  at  Home,  willingly  joined  in  the  Adven- 
ture, some  as  Settlers,  and  others  as  Servants  to  the 
Trustees ;  and,  lastly,  that  great  Numbers  of  Gentlemen 
of  some  Stock  and  Fortune,  willingly  expended  Part  of 

enouc^h  comes  in  here  to  connect  Berkeley  and  Oglethorpe.  Par- 
liamentary influence  soon  after  diverted  the  grant  into  another  chan- 
nel. The  land  in  St.  Christopher's  produced  ^^90,000.  Of  this 
^80,000  was  granted  as  the  marriage  portion  of  the  Princess  Royal, 
on  her  marriage  with  the  Prince  of  Orange.  General  Oglethorpe 
induced  Parliament  to  vote  the  remainder  for  his  new  colony  of 
Georgia,  in  America,  after  obtaining  Berkeley's  consent  to  this 
application  of  the  money.  (See  Journals  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
May  10,  16,  and  17,  1732.)  St.  Christopher,  or  St.  Kitts,  was  one 
of  the  Caribbee  Islands,  obtained  by  us  in  a  dispute  with  the 
French. 

*  Sparks'  Library  of  American  Biography,  vol.  xii.  pp.  228-9. 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  2i 

the  same  in  purchasing  Servants,  Tools,  Commodities, 
and  other  Necessaries,  to  intiile  them  to  such  respective 
proportions  of  land  as  the  Trustees  had  thought  proper 
to  determine."  * 

While  one  committee  of  the  trustees  was  engaged  in 
visiting  prisons  for  the  purpose  of  examining  and  select- 
ing the  most  suitable  men  for  the  enterprise,  another  was 
concerned  to  see  that  those  who  had  been  chosen  were 
put  through  military  drill  and  instructed  in  such  things 
as  might  be  most  profitable  to  them  in  their  new 
sphere  of  life.  Oglethorpe,  having  resolved  to  give 
up  ease  at  home  and  to  accompany  his  proteges  to 
Georgia,  was  named  Colonial  Governor.  It  adds  to 
our  respect  and  reverence  for  him,  that  he  made  it  a 
strict  condition  that  he  should  receive  no  payment  in 
any  form. 

The  following  sentences  are  not  drawn  from  the  writ- 
ings of  enthusiastic  friends  and  admirers  of  Oglethorpe, 
but  from  the  State  documents  of  the  neighbouring  State 
of  South  Carolina : — 

"The  benevolent  founders  of  the  colony  of  Georgia 
perhaps  may  challenge  the  annals  of  any  nation  to  pro- 
duce a  design  more  generous  and  praiseworthy  than  that 
they  had  undertaken.  They  voluntarily  offered  their 
money,  their  labour,  and  time  for  promoting  what 
appeared   to  them  the  good  of  others,   leaving  them- 

*  A  True  and  Historical  Narrative  of  the  Colony  of  Georgia  in 
America,  pp.  26,  27. 


«2  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

selves  nothing  for  reward  but  the  inexpressible  satisfac- 
tion arising  from  virtuous  actions."  * 

It  is  of  these  heroic  labours  of  Oglethorpe  that  Thom- 
son writes  in  his  poem  Winter  in  "  The  Seasons  " — 

"  And  here  can  I  forget  the  generous  hand, 
Who,  touched  with  human  woe,  redressive  searched 
Into  the  horrors  of  the  gloomy  jail, 
Unpitied  and  unheard,  where  misery  moans, 
Where  sickness  pines,  where  thirst  and  hunger  burn. 
And  poor  misfortune  feels  the  lash  of  vice  ? 
While  in  the  land  of  liberty,  the  land 
Whose  every  street  and  public  meeting  glow 
With  open  freedom,  little  tyrants  raged  : 
Snatched  the  lean  morsel  from  the  starving  mouth  } 
Tore  from  cold  wintry  limbs  the  tattered  weed  : 
Even  robbed  them  of  the  last  of  comforts,  sleep; 
The  freeborn  Briton  to  the  dungeon  chained. 
Or,  as  the  lust  of  cruelty  prevailed, 
At  pleasure  marked  him  with  inglorious  stripes  ; 
And  crushed  out  lives,  by  secret  barbarous  ways. 
That  for  their  country  would  have  toiled  and  bled, 
O  great  design  !  if  executed  well. 
With  patient  care,  and  wisdom-tempered  zeal : 
Ye  sons  of  mercy  !  yet  resume  the  search  ; 
Drag  forth  the  legal  monsters  into  light. 
Wrench  from  their  hands  oppression's  iron  rod. 
And  bid  the  cruel  feel  the  pains  they  give  ! 
Much  still  untouched  remains  in  this  rank  age, 
Much  is  the  patriot's  weeding  hand  required. 
The  toils  of  law  (what  dark  insidious  men 
Have  cumbrous  added  to  perplex  the  truth 
And  lengthen  simple  justice  into  trade), 
How  glorious  were  the  day  that  saw  them  broke, 
And  every  man  within  the  reach  of  right !  " 

•  Historical  Collections  of  South  Carolina,  vol.  i.  p.  289. 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  23 

Matters  being  brought  to  this  favourable  footing,  it 
was  but  the  work  of  careful  administration  to  secure  a 
vessel  and  make  all  the  necessary  preparations — details 
which,  in  Oglethorpe's  hands,  were  accomplished  with 
marvellous  despatch ;  and  so,  as  we  have  seen,  the  little 
craft  set  sail  from  the  Thames  in  November  1732. 

11. 

The  "  Annie  "  reached  the  harbour  of  Charlestown  on 
the  13th  January  1733.  The  emigrants  were  kindly  re- 
ceived by  Governor  Johnson,  who  invited  them  to  settle 
down  to  rest  for  a  time  until  Oglethorpe  himself  should  go 
forward  to  explore  the  country.  Governor  Johnson  was 
fully  aware  of  the  advantages  of  protection  and  intercourse 
that  would  arise  to  Carolina  from  this  new  colony,  and 
he  assisted  and  encouraged  Oglethorpe  in  every  way. 
Provisions,  hogs,  and  cows  were  presented  to  the  Geor- 
gian settlers  by  wealthy  and  kind-hearted  Carolinians. 
William  Bull,  a  man  of  knowledge  and  experience,  agreed 
to  accompany  Oglethorpe  and  to  assist  him  in  the  work 
of  exploration.  After  a  good  deal  of  wandering  and 
adventure,  they  found  a  high  and  pleasant  spot  of  ground 
situated  on  a  navigable  river,  and  here  they  fixed  the 
destination  of  the  settlers.  The  locality  for  the  first 
town  having  been  agreed  on,  the  colonists  with  their 
possessions  were  conveyed  thither,  and  were  speedily 
engaged  in  erecting  houses. 


24  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

To  explain  in  some  measure  the  view  that  the  Caro- 
linians would  be  likely  to  take  of  this  effort  at  Georgian 
colonisation,  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  Transatlantic 
colonies  existing  in  1733  were  nothing  more  than  a  mere 
fringe  skirting  the  eastern  coast  of  America.  The  Span- 
iards— by  no  means  friendly,  and  inclined  to  threaten  all 
settlers — were  in  Florida ;  the  English  in  Georgia,  the 
Carolinas,  Virginia,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  New 
England  ;  the  French  in  Canada.  This  was  all  Excep- 
ting these  few  colonial  settlements,  the  whole  of  the 
imnoense  continent  was  one  vast  wilderness,  rich  but  wild, 
the  home  of  countless  thousands  of  birds  and  beasts,  and 
sparsely  peopled  by  Indians. 

The  province  of  Georgia,  we  may  further  explain,  is 
watered  by  three  great  rivers,  which  rise  in  the  moun- 
tains, namely,  the  Alatamaha,  the  Ogechee,  and  the 
Savannah ;  the  last  of  which  is  navigable  six  hundred 
miles  for  canoes  and  three  hundred  miles  for  boats. 
The  coast  of  Georgia  is  defended  from  the  rage  of  the 
sea  by  a  range  of  islands.  The  extensive  territory  south 
of  the  river  Savannah  had  long  been  a  kind  of  border- 
land between  the  settled  possessions  of  England  and 
Spain  in  North  America.  Spain  claimed  it,  as  indeed 
she  did  all  America,  by  virtue  of  the  Pope's  donation, 
and  was  not  willing  to  lose  hold  upon  it,  by  and  by  re- 
attempting  to  make  good  her  claim.  New  towns,  such  as 
that  Oglethorpe  was  engaged  in  establishing,  would  throw 
so  many  new  impediments  in  the  way  of  any  effective 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  2$ 

advance  of  the  Spaniards.     In  a  letter  written  from  the 
spot,  Oglethorpe  thus  described  the  site  chosen — 

**  The  river  here  forms  a  half-moon,  around  the  south 
side  of  which  the  banks  are  about  forty  feet  high,  and  on 
the  top  a  flat,  which  they  call  a  bluff.  The  plain  high 
ground  extends  into  the  country  about  five  or  six  mhes, 
and  along  the  river  for  about  a  mile.  Ships  that  draw 
near  twelve  feet  of  water  can  ride  within  ten  yards  of  the 
bank.  Upon  the  river  side,  in  the  centre  of  the  plain,  I 
have  laid  out  the  town,  opposite  to  which  is  an  island  of 
very  rich  pasturage,  which  I  think  should  be  kept  for 
the  trustees'  cattle.  The  river  is  pretty  wide,  the  water 
fresh,  and  from  the  quay  of  the  town  you  see  Its  whole 
course  to  the  sea,  with  the  island  of  Tybee,  which  forms 
the  mouth  of  the  river.  For  about  six  miles  up  the 
country  the  landscape  is  very  agreeable,  the  stream  being 
wide  and  bordered  by  high  woods  on  both  sides." 

The  town  of  Savannah,  which  was  here  laid  out,  took 
its  name  from  the  river  that  flows  by  it.  A  small  fort 
was  erected  on  the  banks  as  a  place  of  refuge,  and  some 
guns  were  planted  on  it  for  defence.  The  people  were 
set  to  work  in  felling  trees  and  building  huts.  Oglethorpe 
took  part  in  all  labours,  exposing  himself  to  all  the  hard- 
ships which  the  settlers  were  called  to  endure.  He 
formed  them  into  a  company  of  militia,  appointed  officers 
from  among  themselves,  and  supplied  them  with  arms 
and  ammunition.  "To  show  the  Indians  how  expert 
they  were  at  the  use  of  arms,  he  frequently  exercised 


26  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

them,  and  as  they  had  been  trained  before  by  the 
Serjeants  of  the  guard  in  London,  they  went  through 
their  exercises  in  a  manner  little  inferior  to  regular 
troops."  * 

The  administration  of  the  town  was  very  strict. 
Strong  drink  was  discouraged;  only  an  English  beer 
being  allowed.  Three  bailiffs  were  appointed,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  supervise  the  work,  and  to  see  that  each 
did  his  due  share ;  the  laws  were  administered  by  the 
Recorder  and  Registrar  of  the  Town  Court ;  no  lawyers 
were  to  be  employed,  but  every  one  was  to  be  heard  in 
his  own  cause.  Each  freeholder  was  at  once  allotted  fifty 
acres  of  land — five  of  which  were  near  Savannah,  and 
the  rest  farther  off.  The  chief  produce  was  to  be  wheat 
and  flax,  hemp  and  silk.  A  rent  of  twenty  shillings  was 
to  be  paid  on  every  hundred  acres  of  land ;  no  settler 
could  assign  or  transfer  his  lands  (the  whole  was  to 
revert  to  the  trustees  Avithin  a  given  time) ;  and  (a 
condition  Avhich  turned  out  unfortunately)  if  a  man  died 
without  heirs  male,  his  daughters  could  not  inherit — the 
property  was  forfeited,  and  liable  to  be  granted  to  other 
hands.  As  Mr.  Peabody  remarks,  "there  is  surely  no 
sufficient  reason  for  considering  it  a  crime  in  a  man  not 
to  have  sons,  nor  for  imposing  a  penalty  on  daughters."  f 
Though  a  power  was  lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  Govern- 

*  Historical   Collections   of  South    Carolina,    vol.   i.    pp.    289, 
290. 
t  Sparks'  Library  of  American  Biography,  vol.  xii.  p.  239. 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  27 

tnent  for  dispensing  with  this  requirement  in  special 
cases,  still  it  was  felt  to  be  a  source  of  dissatisfaction. 

Great  encouragement  was  to  be  given  to  the  silk 
industry,  one  of  the  industrial  teachers  being  Mr. 
Amatis,  a  Piedmontese,  who  had  been  engaged  chiefly 
to  instruct  the  colonists  in  rearing  silkworms  and  in  the 
art  of  winding  silk.  They  had  learned  that  the  climate 
of  the  province  was  favourable  to  the  silkworm,  and 
that  the  mulberry  grew  wild.  Though  they  knew  that 
the  industry  of  the  men  would  be  required  for  severer 
labours,  they  thought  that  the  attention  requisite  during 
the  feeding  of  the  worms  might  be  given  by  the  aged 
and  infirm,  by  women  and  children,  without  interference 
with  any  other  duty. 

It  appears  from  Dr.  Stevens'  "Brief  History  of  the 
Culture  of  Silk  in  Georgia  "  that  the  subject  had  engaged 
the  attention  of  emigrants  to  Virginia  as  early  as  1609; 
and  in  a  pamphlet  then  published  it  is  said,  "  There  are 
silke-worms  and  plenty  of  mulberries,  whereby  ladies, 
gentlewomen,  and  little  children,  being  set  in  the  way  to 
do  it,  may  be  all  emploied,  with  pleasure,  making  silke 
comparable  to  that  of  Persia,  Turkey,  or  any  other." 

Mr.  Oglethorpe  was  before  long  visited  by  three  or 
four  gentlemen  who  had  made  a  canoe  voyage  from 
Charlestown  to  Savannah.  One  of  them  published  an 
account  of  what  he  saw,  and  in  it  is  the  following  : — 

"  Mr.  Oglethorpe  is  indefatigable  and  takes  a  great 
deal  of  pains.     His  fare  is  but  indifferent,  having  little 


28  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

else  at  present  but  salt  provisions.  He  is  extremely  well 
beloved  by  all  the  people.  The  general  title  they  give 
him  is  Father.  If  any  of  them  are  sick,  he  immediately 
visits  them,  and  takes  a  great  deal  of  care  of  them.  If 
any  difference  arises,  he  is  the  person  that  decides  it. 
Two  happened  while  I  was  there,  in  my  presence ;  and 
all  the  parties  went  away,  to  outward  appearance,  satisfied 
and  content  with  his  determination.  He  keeps  a  strict 
discipline.  I  never  saw  one  of  his  people  drunk,  nor 
heard  one  of  them  swear,  all  the  time  I  was  there.  He 
does  not  allow  them  rum,  but  in  lieu  gives  them  English 
beer.  It  is  surprising  to  see  how  cheerful  the  men  go  to 
work,  considering  they  have  not  been  bred  to  it.  There 
are  no  idlers  there.  Even  the  boys  and  girls  do  their 
part.  There  are  four  houses  already  up,  but  none  are 
finished ;  and  he  hopes,  when  he  has  got  more  sawyers, 
to  finish  two  houses  a  week.  He  has  ploughed  up  some 
land  :  part  of  it  he  has  sowed  with  wheat,  which  has  come 
up,  and  looks  promising.  He  has  two  or  three  gardens, 
which  he  has  sowed  with  divers  sorts  of  seed,  and  planted 
thyme,  sage,  pot-herbs,  leeks,  skellions,  celery,  liquorice, 
&c.,  and  several  trees.  He  has  done  a  vast  amount  of 
work  for  the  time,  and  I  think  his  name  justly  deserves  to 
be  immortalised."*  * 

One  of  the  great  objects  with  which  Oglethorpe  had 
adventured  in  the  colonisation  of  Georgia  was,  as  we 
have   said,   the  improvement,  education,  and  religious 

*  South  Carolina  Gazette,  April  23,  I733. 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  29 

instruction  of  the  Indians.  He  lost  no  time  in  devoting 
himself  to  this  work.  He  was  desirous  that  his  friendly 
intentions  should  be  speedily  made  known,  as  mischief 
might  easily  arise  from  delay.  But  he  set  about  the 
task  in  a  truly  characteristic  manner.  He  heard  of 
an  Indian  woman,  Mary  Musgrove,  who  had  married  a 
trader  from  Carolina,  and  who  could  speak  both  the 
English  and  Creek  languages.  Finding  that  she  had  great 
influence  with  the  Indians,  and  might  be  made  useful  as 
an  interpreter  in  forming  treaties  of  alliance  with  them, 
he  sent  for  her  and  drew  her  to  him  in  friendship  by 
presents,  and  afterwards  settled  on  her  an  annual  small 
allowance.  By  her  assistance  he  summoned  a  general 
meeting  of  the  chiefs  at  Savannah,  in  order  to  procure 
their  consent  to  the  peaceable  settlement  of  the  colony. 

Two  widely-contrasted  views  of  the  American  Indian 
have  hitherto  been  the  fashion.  There  is  the  romantic 
view,  fed  by  the  novels  of  Fenimore  Cooper  and  others, 
and  by  poems  innumerable,  in  which  he  stands  not  only  as 
a  picturesque,  but  as  a  noble,  calm,  and  stately  presence, 
high-minded,  heroic,  hospitable  to  a  fault,  and  falling 
before  civilisation  to  the  loss  of  humanity  and  the  regrets 
of  those  who  knew  him  by  most  intimate  contact.  The 
other,  which  professes  to  be  that  of  sober  fact,  regards 
him  as  greedy,  cunning,  idle,  filthy,  and  deceitful ;  with 
the  reserve  of  the  diplomatist  and  the  coolness  of  the 
paid  assassin,  able  to  plot  to  take  your  life  even  while 
entertaining  you  with  all  the  aspect  of  placid  and  ingenu- 


30  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

ous  friendliness.  If  this  were  true,  it  was  strange  why 
the  Indians  at  first  perished  so  pathetically  under  the 
treatment  of  the  first  adventurers  and  gold-hunters. 
Probably  the  truth  lies  between  the  two  reports.  Ogle- 
thorpe's experience,  at  all  events,  proves  that  they  were 
susceptible  of  gratitude  and  faithful  to  pledges  if  treated 
with  uprightness  and  honesty,  and  the  great  William 
Penn  had  already  found  them  the  same. 

While  Mary  Musgrove  was  arranging  the  conclave, 
Oglethorpe  was  once  more  on  the  way  to  Charlestown, 
where  he  addressed  the  Assembly  and  received  formal 
promise  of  support.  Thomas  Penn  of  Pennsylvania  also 
came  to  his  help,  expressing  the  very  deepest  interest  in 
the  scheme  and  promising  every  aid  he  could ;  besides 
subscribing  one  hundred  pounds  himself,  he  was  active 
in  soliciting  subscriptions  from  others. 

Oglethorpe  made  no  longer  stay  at  Charlestown  than 
courtesy  demanded,  and  on  his  return  he  found  the  chiefs 
of  the  Lower  Creeks  in  attendance  at  Savannah,  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  a  treaty  with  the  colony.  The 
deputation,  which  consisted  of  about  fifty  chiefs  and 
leading  warriors,  was  received  with  the  utmost  respect 
and  kindness.  Oglethorpe  represented  to  them  the  great 
power,  wisdom,  and  wealth  of  England,  and  the  many 
advantages  that  would  accrue  to  them  from  a  connection 
and  alliance  with  the  English  people.  As  they  had 
plenty  of  lands,  he  hoped  that  they  would  freely  resign  a 
share  of  them  to  his  people,  who  were  come  for  their 


James  oglethorpe.  31 

benefit  and  instruction  to  settle  amongst  them.  He 
assured  them  that  his  intentions  were  only  friendly  to 
them,  as  he  trusted  the  future  would  make  clear;  and 
expressed  the  hope  that  they  would  not  only  be  friends, 
but  always  have  the  true  interests  of  each  other  at  heart. 
Ouechachumpa,  an  old  chief,  rose  and  replied  in  a 
friendly  speech.  He  said  that  they  were  firmly  per- 
suaded that  the  Great  Power  which  dwelt  in  heaven 
and  all  around  (and  then  he  spread  out  his  hands  and 
lengthened  the  sound  of  his  words),  and  which  had 
given  breath  to  all  men,  had  sent  the  English  thither 
for  the  instruction  of  them,  their  wives,  and  children. 
They  therefore  gave  up  freely  their  right  to  all  the  land 
which  they  did  not  use  themselves.  That  was  not  only 
his  opinion,  but  the  opinion  of  the  eight  towns  of  the 
Creeks ;  each  of  which,  having  consulted  together,  had 
sent  some  of  their  chief  men  with  skins,  which  is  their 
wealth.  He  then  stopped,  and  the  chief  men  of  each 
town  brought  up  a  bundle  of  buck-skins,  and  laid  eight 
bundles  from  the  eight  towns  at  Mr.  Oglethorpe's  feet. 
He  then  said  those  were  the  best  things  they  had,  and 
therefore  they  gave  them  with  a  good  heart. 

A  treaty  was  soon  concluded,  by  which  the  Indians 
ceded  lands  on  the  Savannah  River  as  far  as  the 
Ogechee,  and  all  the  lands  along  the  c/asts  between 
the  Savannah  and  Alatamaha  Rivers,  including  all  the 
islands,  and  extending  west  as  high  as  the  tide  flows. 
A  reservation  was  made  of  two  or  three  islands,  and  a 


32  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

small  tract  on  shore,  the  former  for  bathing  and  fishing, 
the  latter  for  an  encampment  when  visiting  the  country. 
The  presents  on  the  part  of  the  English  consisted  of  a 
laced  coat,  a  hat,  and  a  shirt  to  each  of  the  chiefs,  a  gun 
with  powder  and  shot  to  each  of  the  war  captains,  and  a 
mantle  of  coarse  cloth  to  each  of  the  men  who  accom- 
panied them.  The  Indians  departed,  well  pleased  with 
the  attention  which  had  been  shown  to  them.  A  special 
friendship  was  formed  with  one  of  the  chiefs,  Tomo 
Chichi,  which,  for  reasons  which  will  soon  appear,  must 
be  made  specially  prominent.  This  Tomo  Chichi, 
though  he  was  only  the  chief  of  a  small  tribe  established 
at  Yamcraw,  three  miles  from  Savannah,  was  hereafter  to 
exercise  great  influence.  In  a  short  time  Oglethorpe 
is  able  to  report  to  the  trustees — 

"  The  Lower  Creek  nation  is  within  a  short  distance 
of  us,  and  has  concluded  a  peace  with  us,  giving  us  the 
right  of  all  this  part  of  the  country ;  and  I  have  marked 
out  the  lands  which  they  have  reserved  to  themselves. 
Their  king  comes  constantly  to  church,  and  desires  to 
be  instructed  in  the  Christian  religion,  and  has  given  me 
his  nephew,  a  boy  who  is  his  next  heir,  to  educate. 
The  other  two  nations  are  the  Uchees  and  the  Upper 
Creeks ;  we  agree  so  well  that  they  have  referred  to  me 
a  difference  to  determine,  which  otherwise  would  have 
occasioned  a  war." 

And  later  we  find  Oglethorpe  writing,  after  further 
inquiry  and  exploration — 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  33 

"The  province  is  much  larger  than  we  thought,  being 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  this  river  to  the 
Alatamaha.  I'he  Savannah  has  a  very  long  course,  and 
a  great  trade  is  carried  on  by  the  Indians,  there  having 
above  twelve  boats  passed  since  I  have  been  there. 
There  are  some  respects,"  he  said,  "  in  which  the  Indians 
are  already  exemplary.  Theft  is  a  thing  unknown  among 
the  Creeks,  though  not  uncommon  among  the  Uchees. 
They  abhor  adultery,  and  do  not  approve  a  plurality  of 
wives." 

They  were  thus  treated  with  such  kindness  that  they 
were  disarmed  of  the  wish,  not  to  speak  of  the  power,  to 
injure,  and  indeed  were  made  to  serve  as  a  strong  safe- 
guard against  other  foes.  The  capacity  to  perceive 
the  good  points  in  savage  peoples,  and  successfully 
to  appeal  to  them,  is  one  of  the  very  rarest  gifts  in 
the  class  who  regard  themselves  as  called  to  be  ex- 
plorers ;  and  much  of  the  misery  of  colonisation  has 
undoubtedly  sprung  from  this.  The  extinction  of  the 
Red  men  and  of  the  Maories  is  in  great  part  due  to 
it.  In  the  historical  documents  of  South  Carolina  we 
read — 

"This  generous  and  kind  method  of  treating  bar- 
barians was  better  policy  than  that  of  overawing  them  by 
force,  and  was  attended,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
with  the  happiest  consequences.  To  strengthen  the 
frontiers  of  Carolina  and  promote  the  colony  of  Georgia, 
nothing   could  have   been  conceived  more  useful  and 


34  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

effectual  than  a  friendly  intercourse  with  the  savages  of 
the  neighbourhood."* 

The  combination  of  far-sighted  statesmanship  with 
lofty  benevolent  views,  has  seldom  been  better  illus- 
rated  than  in  Oglethorpe's  principle  of  dealing  with  the 
Indians. 

Small  parties  of  emigrants  had  been  sent  out  from 
time  to  time,  and,  in  June  1733,  the  whole  number 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  fifty-two,  ten  being 
Italian  and  eleven  German  Protestants. 


IIL 

Having  seen  the  colony  advanced  to  such  a  state  of 
order,  and  a  fair  prospect  of  prosperity  before  it,  Ogle- 
thorpe left  it  for  England,  with  a  view  the  better  to 
arrange  various  matters  with  the  trustees.  Tomo  Chichi, 
the  Mico  or  chief  of  a  branch  of  the  Creek  nation 
already  referred  to,  was  with  him,  as  well  as  his  wife  and 
nephew  and  some  other  natives,  whose  appearance  in 
England,  it  was  hoped,  would  tend  to  increase  the 
interest  felt  in  the  colony.  Oglethorpe  visited  New 
England  on  the  way,  and  was  warmly  received.  Con- 
gratulatory addresses  were  voted  to  him  by  the  Assembly 
of  the  province.  On  reaching  home  he  found  that  the 
set  of  public  opinion  was  in  his  favour.  His  supporters 
increased ;  the  newspapers  recognised  in  him  a  hero  and 

*  Historical  Collections  of  South  Carolina,  vol.  i.  p.  293. 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  35 

public  benefactor.  The  following  letter  from  the  vener- 
able Samuel  Wesley,  accompanying  a  copy  of  his  work  on 
the  Book  of  Job,  may  be  taken  as  an  indication  of  the 

state  of  feeling  towards  him  : — 

"  Epworth,  July  6,  1734. 
"Honoured  Sir, — May  I  be  permitted,  while  such 
crowds  of  our  nobility  and  gentry  are  pouring  their 
congratulations,  to  press  with  my  poor  mite  of  thanks 
into  the  presence  of  one  who  so  well  deserves  the  title 
of  Universal  Benefactor  of  Mankind.  It  is  not  only 
your  valuable  favours  on  many  accounts  to  my  son,  late 
of  Westminster,  and  myself,  when  I  was  not  a  little 
pressed  in  the  world,  nor  your  more  extensive  charity  to 
the  poor  prisoners ;  it  is  not  these  only  that  so  much 
demand  my  warmest  acknowledgments,  as  your  dis- 
interested and  immovable  attachment  to  your  country  ; 
by  your  raising  a  new  colony,  or  rather  a  little  world  of 
your  own,  in  the  midst  of  wild  woods  and  uncultivated 
deserts,  where  men  may  live  free  and  happy,  if  they  are  not 
hindered  by  their  own  stupidity  and  folly,  in  spite  of  the 
unkindness  of  their  brother-mortals."  .  .  . 

Though  now  within  a  short  period  of  his  decease, 
Samuel  Wesley  took  such  an  intense  interest  in  the 
Georgian  colony,  that  he  declared  that,  if  he  had  been 
ten  years  younger,  he  would  gladly  have  devoted  the 
remainder  of  his  life  and  labours  to  the  emigrants, 
and  in  acquiring  the  language  of  the  Indians  among 
whom  they  had  to  live.      Among  others  who  had  gone 


36  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

to  Georgia  with  Oglethorpe  and  had  returned  with  him, 
was  John  Lyndal,  one  of  Samuel  Wesley's  parishioners, 
of  whom  the  venerable  rector  earnestly  inquired  whether 
the  ministers  who  had  migrated  to  the  infant  colony 
understood  the  Indian  language,  and  could  preach  with- 
out interpreters. 

Tomo  Chichi  went  to  court  and  presented  eagle 
feathers  to  George  II.  Poems  were  written  in 
many  journals,  and  the  "  Gentleman's  Magazine  " 
offered  a  prize  for  a  medal  to  commemorate  Ogle- 
thorpe's benevolence  and  patriotism.  Tomo  and  his 
friends  were  also  presented  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  and  to  him  Tomo  expressed  the  wish  of 
his  people  for  religious  instruction.  The  visit  of  the 
Indians  had  the  result  intended.  Fresh  interest  was 
awakened.  Parliament  continued  its  benefactions,  the 
King  expressed  the  deepest  interest  in  the  province 
that  bore  his  name,  and  often  inquired  of  his  ministers 
respecting  it.  And  when,  after  a  stay  of  four  months 
in  England,  the  natives  went  home,  it  was  inevitable 
that  they  should  do  good  by  spreading  abroad  among 
their  brethren  the  impression  they  had  formed  of 
English  greatness,  and  power,  and  culture,  and  kind- 
ness. 

But  success  and  appreciation  did  not  lead  Oglethorpe 
to  lessen  his  activity.  The  cause  of  the  colony  was  ever 
present  with  him.  Scarcely  had  he  landed  when  he 
was  arranging  for  another  relay  of  settlers.     Some  dis- 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  37 

contentment  had  been  felt  by  certain  of  the  emigrants 
at  the  embargo  which  had  been  put  on  the  importation 
of  rum  and  spirits,  and  avowedly  on  this  ground  a  few 
had  left  the  colony  for  other  parts  in  America,  efforts 
to  smuggle  in  drink  not  having  succeeded.  In  spite 
of  this,  we  find  the  trustees  firmly  adhering  to  their 
policy. 

While  Oglethorpe  was  in  England  they  passed  an 
Act  at  once  for  preventing  trouble  with  the  Indians, 
and  for  preserving  the  health  and  morals  of  the  people. 
It  was  entitled  "  An  Act  to  prevent  all  importation  of 
rum  and  brandies  into  the  province  of  Georgia,  or  any 
kind  of  ardent  spirits  or  strong  waters  whatsoever."  A 
writer  of  the  day  makes  this  remark  :  "  At  the  same  time 
the  trustees  endeavoured  to  supply  the  stores  with  strong 
beer  from  England,  molasses  for  brewing  beer,  and 
with  Madeira  wines;  which  the  people  might  purchase 
at  reasonable  rates,  which  would  be  more  refreshing  and 
wholesome  for  them." 

The  news  from  Georgia  continued  to  be  encouraging. 
In  September  1734  the  trustees  learned  that  Savannah 
was  in  a  prosperous  condition,  and  that  the  people  had 
already  reaped  a  crop  of  Indian  corn,  which  produced  up- 
wards of  a  thousand  bushels.  The  trustees  also  received 
a  curious  despatch  from  the  Indians,  expressing  their 
sense  of  the  greatness  of  the  British  nation,  their  thanks 
for  the  attentions  shown  to  Tomo  Chichi  and  his  com- 
panions, and  their  attachment  to  Mr.  Oglethorpe. 


38  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

Meantime  the  colony  had  been  swelled  by  new 
arrivals ;  for  which  the  general  had  done  his  best  to  pre- 
pare before  leaving.  A  body  of  Salzburgers — Bavarian 
Protestants  who  had  been  compelled  to  flee  their  country 
in  the  depth  of  winter,  owing  to  the  harsh  treatment  of 
their  government — reached  Savannah  on  the  loth  of 
March  1 734 — a  Sabbath  day — and  as  they  lay  off  the  shore 
they  heard  the  birds  singing  so  sweetly  that  it  seemed  to 
them,  after  their  many  sufferings,  that  they  had  been 
conducted  at  last  to  a  resting-place  and  a  home.  They 
were  received  with  kindness  by  all ;  and  the  colonists 
provided  for  their  wants  according  to  the  instructions 
Oglethorpe  had  given  before  he  left.  Some  miles  up 
the  river  from  Savannah  they  found  an  attractive  spot 
for  a  settlement,  and  with  the  Bible  in  their  hands  they 
marked  out  the  boundaries,  and  significantly  named  it 
EbeJiezer.  The  spot  chosen  was  surrounded  by  vast 
forests  of  cedar,  walnuts,  cypresses,  and  oaks,  with  wild 
vines  running  to  the  top  of  the  highest  trees.  As  for 
game,  there  were  eagles,  turkeys,  roebucks,  goats,  deer, 
wild  cows,  horses,  hares,  partridges,  and  buffaloes  without 
number.  The  Salzburgers  built  tents  made  of  the  bark 
of  trees,  constructed  roads  and  bridges,  set  up  rehgious 
services,  were  furnished  with  domestic  utensils  and  with 
cattle,  and  were  soon  a  prosperous  community,  A  short 
time  later  a  band  of  Moravians  were  received,  who 
fared  equally  well  at  the  hands  of  the  settlers ;  and  later 
Still,  a  yet  more  remarkable  population,  who  far  out- 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  39 

numbered  the  discontented  who  had  removed  to  Caro- 
lina and  other  places.  The  proposal  of  the  trustees 
had  excited  such  interest  in  Scotland  and  been  received 
with  such  favour  that,  in  Inverness  and  its  vicinity,  no 
fewer  than  a  hundred  and  thirty  Highlanders  and  their 
famiUes  had  been  enrolled  for  emigration.  These,  with 
wives  and  children,  making  in  all  a  party  of  about  200, 
arrived  in  Georgia  in  the  month  of  January  1735  ;  and 
with  them  came  several  private  grantees,  with  their 
servants.  The  Scots  were  destined  to  settle  on  the 
frontiers,  for  the  protection  and  defence  of  the  province. 
After  staying  a  few  days  at  Savannah,  they  proceeded 
southward  in  periaguas ;  and,  ascending  the  Alatamaha 
River  about  sixteen  miles  from  St.  Simons,  they  pitched 
upon  a  suitable  settlement.  Here  they  raised  a  little 
fort  and  mounted  four  pieces  of  cannon.  They  also 
built  a  guard-house,  a  store,  and  a  chapel  ;  for,  with 
characteristic  piety  and  foresight,  they  had  brought  a 
pastor  with  them— a  Mr.  Macleod,  "  a  very  good  man, 
who  is  very  useful  in  instructing  the  people  in  religious 
matters  and  will  intermeddle  with  no  other  affairs." 
The  district,  at  their  desire,  was  called  "  Darien ; "  while 
the  town  was  named  "  New  Inverness,"  which,  however, 
in  later  years  was  changed.     It  is  refreshing  to  read — 

"  The  costume  of  the  Highland  clansman,  his  cap  and 
plume,  his  kilt  and  plaid,  soon  became  very  dear  to  the 
red  man  of  the  woods ;  they  mingled  in  their  sports,  and 
hunted  the  buffalo  together ; — for  the  woods  of  Georgia 


40  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

were  then  as  full  of  buffaloes  as  the  plains  of  Missouri 
are  now ;  and  the  writer  of  this  notice  was  told  when  a 
boy,  by  General  Lachlan  M'Intosh,  that  when  a  youth  he 
had  seen  ten  thousand  buffalo  within  ten  miles  of  New 
Inverness."  * 

Meantime  Oglethorpe  was  busy  at  home.  He  carried 
many  measures  for  the  future  benefit  of  the  colony.  His 
concern  for  the  Indians  led  him  to  interest  the  trustees 
in  their  moral  and  religious  condition,  and  his  proposi- 
tion that  efficient  Christian  teachers  be  engaged  for  the 
colony,  some  of  whom  should  specially  devote  them- 
selves to  the  Indians,  was  warmly  supported. 

They  at  once  began  to  look  round  for  fit  persons 
to  undertake  this  work.  At  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  John 
Burton,  a  member  of  the  Board,  they  turned  their  attention 
to  John  Wesley,  then  a  young  man  of  great  promise  as  a 
preacher.  Wesley  took  counsel  with  his  brother  Samuel ; 
asked  the  advice  of  William  Law,  and  went  to  Manchester 
to  consult  his  friends  Clayton  and  Byrom.  Thence  he 
proceeded  to  Epworth,  and  laid  the  proposal  before  his 
widowed  mother,  who  replied,  "  Had  I  twenty  sons,  I 
should  rejoice  if  they  were  all  so  employed."  f  His 
decision  was  soon  taken,  and  in  a  short  time  we  find 
him  writing  to  his  friend  Mr.  Benjamin  Ingham: 
"  Fast  and  pray ;  and  then  send  me  word  whether  you 

•  J.   Spalding's  Memoir  of  M'Intosh,  in   "Portrait  Gallery  of 
Distinguished  Americans,"  1836,  vol.  iii. 
+  Tyerman's  Wesley,  i.  p.  105. 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE,  41 

dare  go  with  me  to  the  Indians."  After  a  time  Ingham 
answered  fthat,  though  he  had,  on  first  getting  the 
proposal,  fancied  that  "  we  had  heathen  enough  at 
home,"  the  call  had  been  made  clear  to  him  as  he  had 
dwelt  on  the  prospect,  and  that  he  would  go.* 

Mr.  Benjamin  Ingham,  above  referred  to,  was  a  young 
Yorkshireman  of  great  promise,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  he 
went  to  act  as  Wesley's  assistant ;  while  Charles  Dela- 
motte,  who  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy  London  merchant, 
was  so  devoted  to  Wesley,  that,  in  face  of  opposition  from 
his  family  and  the  finest  chances  in  business,  he  decided 
to  go  to  Georgia  as  Wesley's  servant.  Another  passenger 
at  this  time  was  the  venerable  David  Nitschmann — the 
Moravian  bishop — who,  as  Wesley  said,  "adorned  the 
Gospel  of  our  Lord  in  all  things." 

The  ships  were  specially  fitted  out  to  carry  the  emi- 
grants, and  Oglethorpe  would  sail  in  company  with  them. 
The  Government  had  offered  Oglethorpe  a  vessel  for  his 
own  accommodation ;  but  this  he  declined,  preferring  to 
sail  with  the  emigrants  and  to  live  as  they  did.  The 
"Symond  "  and  the  "  London  Merchant,"  each  about  220 
tons,  were  the  vessels  that  had  been  chartered ;  and  they 
sailed  from  the  Thames  on  the  21st  of  October  1735, 
but,  owing  to  contrary  winds,  Cowes  was  not  left  till  the 
loth  of  December. 

The  Moravians  went  to  join  their  brethren  who  had 
gone  out  the  previous  year.    Most  readers  will  remember 

•  Oxford  Methodists,  pp.  64,  66,  67. 


42  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

something  of  the  influence  which  was  brought  to  bear 
on  Wesley  through  his  relationship  with  them  on  this 
voyage.  Mr.  Ingham  describes  them  as  "  a  good, 
devout,  and  heavenly  -  minded  people.  Almost  the 
only  time  you  know  they  are  in  the  ship  is  when 
they  are  harmoniously  singing  the  praises  of  the  great 
Creator,  which  they  constantly  do  twice  a-day.  Their 
example  was  very  edifying.  They  are  more  like  the 
primitive  Christians  than  any  church  now  existing,  for 
they  retain  both  the  faith,  practice,  and  discipline 
delivered  by  the  apostles.  They  have  regularly  ordained 
bishops,  priests,  and  deacons.  Baptisms,  confirmation, 
and  the  Eucharist  are  duly  administered.  Discipline  is 
strictly  exercised  without  respect  of  persons.  They  all 
submit  themselves  to  the  pastors  in  everything.  They 
live  together  in  perfect  love  and  peace,  having  for  the 
present  all  things  common.  They  are  more  ready  to 
serve  their  neighbours  than  themselves.  In  business 
they  are  diligent,  in  all  their  dealings  strictly  just ;  and 
in  everything  they  behave  themselves  with  meekness, 
sweetness,  and  humility." 

In  a  storm  that  made  many  scream  out  for  fear,  and 
caused  Wesley  to  tremble  doubting  if  he  were  fit  to  die, 
the  Moravians  were  perfectly  calm  and  sang  their  hymns. 
"Are  you  not  afraid  ?  "  Wesley  asked  one  of  them.  He 
replied,  "I  thank  God,  no."  "Are  your  women  and 
children  not  afraid?"  "No;  our  women  and  children 
are   not    afraid   to  die."     No  wonder  that  Wesley  was 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  43 

deeply  influenced  by  their  conduct  and  the  spirit  of 
their  life,  having  his  idea  of  what  a  religious  community 
should  be  elevated  and  spiritualised. 

Oglethorpe,  in  preparing  for  the  voyage,  had  given 
attention  to  the  most  commonplace  details, — preparing 
tools,  provisions,  clothing,  and  other  stores  for  the 
voyage ;  and  that  not  with  any  reference  to  himself, 
for  we  are  assured  by  a  fellow-passenger  that,  while  he 
laboured  incessantly  at  these  preparations,  he  paid  the 
passage  of  the  gentlemen  who  were  with  him  and  his 
servants,  and  scarcely  ever  ate  anything  but  the  common 
provisions  of  the  ship.  We  have  a  fuller  account  of 
this  voyage  than  of  any  of  the  others,  because  of  the 
attention  of  Messrs.  Wesley  and  Ingham  to  their  diaries, 
and  from  that  of  the  latter  we  may  make  an  extract 
si)ecially  throwing  light  on  Oglethorpe's  character.  Mr. 
Ingham  writes  under  date — 

'■'•Friday,  December  19,  Messrs.  Wesley  and  I,  with 
IMr.  Oglethorpe's  approbation,  undertook  to  visit,  each 
of  us,  a  part  of  the  ship,  and  daily  to  provide  the  sick 
people  with  water-gruel,  and  such  other  things  as  were 
necessary  for  them.  At  first  we  met  with  some  diffi- 
culties, but  God  enabled  us  to  persevere  in  the  constant 
performance  to  the  end  of  the  journey.  Mr.  Oglethorpe 
himself  went  several  times  about  the  ship  to  comfort 
and  encourage  the  people ;  and,  indeed,  he  had  never 
been  wanting  in  this  respect.  He  is  a  pattern  of  fatherly 
care  and  tender  compassion,  being  always  ready,  night 


44  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

and  day,  to  give  up  his  own  ease  and  conveniences  to 
serve  the  poorest  body  among  the  people.  He  seldom 
eats  above  once  a  day,  and  then  he  usually  chooses  salt 
provisions  (though  not  so  agreeable  to  his  health),  that 
he  might  give  the  fresh  to  the  sick.  But  more  will 
appear  from  the  following  instance.  One  Mrs.  Welch, 
who  was  believed  to  be  at  the  point  of  death,  being  big 
with  child,  in  a  high  fever,  attended  with  a  violent 
cough,  was,  by  Mr.  Oglethorpe's  order,  removed  into  his 
own  cabin,  which  was  the  best  in  the  ship,  he  himself 
lying  several  nights  in  a  hammock,  till  another  cabin 
was  got  ready  for  him.  He  also  constantly  supplied  her 
with  all  the  best  things  in  the  ship.  Some  of  the  gentle- 
men seemed  disgusted  at  this ;  but  that  made  him  only 
the  more  resolute.  Yet,  notwithstanding  all  possible 
care  was  taken  of  her,  human  means  failed ;  the  doctor 
gave  her  up,  everybody  thought  she  would  die ;  Mr. 
Oglethorpe  only  continued  in  hope.  Nay,  he  said,  he 
was  sure  God  would  raise  her  up  to  manifest  His  glory 
in  her.  She  had  a  desire  to  receive  the  Lord's  Supper 
before  she  died ;  and  lo  !  from  the  moment  she  received 
it,  she  began  to  recover,  and  is  now  safely  delivered  of 
a  daughter,  and  in  perfect  health.  '  Gracious  is  the 
Lord  and  merciful,  long-suffering,  and  of  great  goodness  ; 
the  Lord  is  loving  to  every  man,  and  His  mercy  is  over 
all  His  works.'" 

The  voyage  from  Cowes  to  the  Savannah  River  was 
made   in   fifty-seven  days.     Oglethorpe  seems  to   have 


JAMES  OGLETIIOKPE.  4^ 

always  acted  with  great  kindness.  On  one  occasion, 
when  some  of  the  officers  and  gentlemen  on  board  took 
liberties  with  Wesley  and  his  friends,  Oglethorpe  indig- 
nantly exclaimed,  "  What  mean  you,  sir  ?  Do  you  take 
these  gentlemen  for  tithe-pig  parsons  ?  They  are  gentle- 
men of  learning  and  respectability.  They  are  my 
friends,  and  whoever  offers  an  affront  to  them  insults 
me." 

They  had  experienced  a  tempestuous  voyage  and 
had  a  rough  passage,  but  now  the  weather  was  fine ;  the 
land  breeze  refreshed  them  as  the  ships  lay  quietly 
moored,  and  they  hailed  with  delight  the  land  of  pro- 
mise where,  as  Wesley  said,  "  the  groves  of  pines  along 
the  shores  made  an  agreeable  prospect,  showing,  as  it 
were,  the  verdure  and  bloom  of  spring  in  the  depth  of 
winter." 

The  ships  which  bore  this  large  accession  to  the 
colony  passed  the  bar  at  Tybee,  on  the  5th  of  February 
1736,  and  came  to  anchor.  This  island  is  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Savannah  River;  is  five  miles  long,  and  three 
broad ;  and  is  the  most  easterly  land  in  the  State. 
Oglethorpe  went  immediately  on  shore,  to  see  what  had 
been  done  towards  raising  the  beacon  on  the  island,  for 
the  construction  of  which  he  had  given  orders.  "  It 
was  to  be  an  octagon  building  of  squared  timber;  its 
dimensions  twenty-five  feet  wide  at  the  bottom  and  ten 
at  the  top ;  and  its  height  ninety  feet,  with  a  flagstaff  on 
the  top  thirty  feet  high.     When  completed,  it  would  be 


46  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

of  great  service  to  all  shipping,  not  only  to  the  vessels 
bound  to  this  port,  but  also  to  those  bound  for  Carolina ; 
for  the  land  of  the  coast,  for  some  hundred  miles,  is  so 
alike,  being  low  and  woody,  that  a  distinguishing  mark 
is  of  great  consequence."*  To  his  disappointment  and 
regret  this  most  desirable  enterprise  had  not  been  carried 
forward  as  he  had  hoped.  The  work  had  been  neglected 
owing  partly  to  unfaithfulness  and  partly  to  want  of 
energy  on  the  part  of  the  contractors.  But  Oglethorpe's 
forecast  and  administrative  talent  is  seen  in  his  plans 
and  in  his  future  decision,  for  before  a  few  months  had 
passed  the  lighthouse  was  completed. 

Oglethorpe  was  as  much  surprised  as  gratified  to  see 
the  progress  that  had  been  made  in  his  absence.  The 
town  now  extended  to  nearly  two  miles  in  circumference. 
The  ground  on  which  it  stood  had  only  two  years 
before  been  covered  with  dense  woods.  Two  hundred 
comfortable  dwellings  occupied  the  space,  some  of  them 
two  or  three  stories  high.  To  guard  against  the  spread 
of  fire,  the  houses  were  detached,  each  standing  in  its 
own  lot  of  ground,  sixty  feet  in  width  by  ninety  in 
length,  and  fenced  in  by  stout  palings.  Each  freeholder, 
in  addition  to  his  town-plot,  had  five  acres  outside  the 
common,  to  serve  as  garden,  orchard,  &c.  The  streets 
were  wide,  and  large  squares  were  left  at  proper 
distances.  A  large  public  garden  was  now  laid  out 
under  cultivation,  which,  beautiful  as  it  was  (and  Ogle- 

*  Moore's  Voyage,  p.  i8. 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE,  47 

thorpe  was  a  great  garden  lover),  had  other  claims  to 
admiration.  It  was  meant  to  be  a  nursery  for  mulberry 
trees,  many  of  which  were  already  planted  in  it 

IV. 

During  Oglethorpe's   absence   some   difificulties   had 
arisen  with  a  family  of  Indians  respecting  boundaries ; 
and,  in  consistency  with  the  principles  on  which  he  had 
from  the  first  acted,  he  at  once  set  himself  to  the  settle- 
ment of  this  dispute.     For  this  purpose  he  travelled  a 
great  distance  through  a  trying  country,  hardly  allowing 
himself  ordinary  rest  or  refreshment ;  but  he  arranged 
matters  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties  without  delay, 
making  it  clearly  understood  that  no  colonist  on  the 
slightest   pretext    must   seem  to  overreach  the  natives. 
And,  truly,  Oglethorpe  was  no  laggard.     No  sooner  had 
he  settled  this  matter,  than  he  started  to  visit  the  Salz- 
burgers,  and  having  stayed  with  them  for  a  day  or  two, 
he  went  on  to  see  how  the  Moravians  were  proceeding 
with  their  works,  and  then  southward  to  Darien.     "  He 
found  the  Scotchmen  under  arms,"  we  are  told,  "  dressed 
in  their  uniform  of  plaid,  equipped  with  broadswords, 
targets,  and  muskets."     Oglethorpe  says  they  made  a  fine 
appearance ;  a  remark  in  which  perhaps  he  was  the  more 
justified  that,  in   compliment  to   them,   he  wore  their 
costume  all  the  time  that  he  was  with  them.     They  had 
provided  him  a  soft  bed,  with  hoUand  sheets  and  plaid 


48  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

curtains ;  but  he  chose  to  lie  upon  the  ground  and  in 
the  open  air,  wrapped  in  his  cloak,  as  did  two  other 
gentlemen  ;  and  afterwards  his  example  was  followed  by 
the  rest  of  his  attendants.  Fortunately  such  self-denials 
did  not  greatly  try  Oglethorpe.  His  constitution  was 
hardy ;  he  required  little  sleep ;  he  could  go  a  long 
time  without  food,  and  not  feel  any  inconvenience  or 
serious  results  from  it.  What  would  have  killed  many  a 
man  had  hardly  any  effect  upon  him.  A  gentleman,  who 
accompanied  him  on  this  and  several  other  tours,  says 
in  a  letter  written  on  the  24th  of  February  1736 — 

"What  surprises  me  beyond  expression  is  his  ab- 
stemiousness and  hard  living.  Though  even  dainties 
are  plentiful,  he  makes  the  least  use  of  them ;  and  such 
is  his  hardiness,  that  he  goes  through  the  woods,  wet  or 
dry,  as  well  as  any  Indian.  Moreover,  his  humanity  so 
gains  on  all  here,  that  I  have  not  words  to  express  their 
regard  and  esteem  for  him." 

The  record  of  Oglethorpe's  travels  fully  justifies  what 
has  been  cited  above.  Scarcely  had  he  seen  how 
matters  were  at  Savannah  when  he  set  forth  again,  as  the 
following  passage  from  Wesley's  life  shows : — 

"  Ingham  and  Charles  Wesley  went  off  with  Oglethorpe 
to  lay  out  the  town  of  Frederica;  and  Wesley  and 
Delamotte,  having  no  house  of  their  own  to  live  in, 
lodged,  during  the  first  month,  with  Spangenberg,  Nitsch- 
mann,  and  other  Moravian  friends.  Thus,  from  morning 
to  night,  were  they  mixed  up  with  these  godly  people,  and 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  49 

had  ample  opportunity  to  observe  their  spirit  and  be- 
haviour. Wesley  writes  :  "  They  were  always  employed, 
always  cheerful  themselves,  and  in  good  humour  with 
one  another;  they  had  put  away  all  anger  and  strife, 
and  wrath,  and  bitterness,  and  clamour,  and  evil  speak- 
ing ;  they  walked  worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  they 
were  called." 

On  January  19,  1737,  Oglethorpe  was  able  to  tell  the 
directors  that  during  the  past  year,  not  only  had  Augusta, 
Darien,  and  Frederica  been  founded,  and  that  a  new 
town  called  Ebenezer  had  been  laid  out  for  the  Salz- 
burgers,  but  that  there  were  several  villages  settled  by 
gentlemen  at  their  own  expense.  He  was  further  able 
to  give  them  the  pleasing  intelligence,  that  the  remoter 
Creek  nations,  to  a  distance  of  some  700  miles,  now 
acknowledged  his  Majesty's  authority  and  traded  with 
the  settlers.  As  illustrative  of  the  rough  mode  of  Hfe 
to  which  Oglethorpe  gladly  accommodated  himself,  the 
following  passage  from  Mr.  Ingham's  diary  must  be 
given — 

^^ Monday,  February  16, 1736. — About  seven  this  even- 
ing, I  set  forward  with  Mr.  Oglethorpe  and  some  others 
in  a  ten-oared  boat,  for  the  Alatamaha  River,  the 
southernmost  part  of  Georgia.  At  eleven  we  arrived 
at  a  place  called  Skiddowa,  where  we  went  ashore  into 
the  woods  and  kmdled  a  fire  under  a  lofty  pine-tree. 
Having  written  some  letters,  and  eaten  something,  we 

lay  down  to  sleep  upon  the  ground,  without  either  bed 

D 


so  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

or  board,  having  no  covering  besides  our  clothes,  but  a 
single  blanket  each,  and  the  canopy  of  heaven.  About 
eight  next  day  we  set  forward  again,  passing  several 
marshes,  beset  on  both  sides  by  trees  of  various  sorts, 
whose  leaves,  being  gilded  with  the  glorious  rays  of 
the  sun,  yielded  a  beautiful  prospect.  About  twelve  the 
wind  blew  so  high  that  we  were  driven  upon  an  oyster- 
bank,  where  we  could  not  get  a  stick  to  make  a  fire. 
Here  we  dined  very  comfortably.  Near  two  we  set 
forward  again,  and  with  great  difficulty  crossed  over  the 
mouth  of  the  river  Ogechee.  The  wind  was  exceed- 
ingly high,  and  the  water  very  rough.  Almost  every 
wave  drove  over  the  side  of  the  boat,  so  that  every 
moment  we  were  in  jeopardy  of  our  lives ;  and,  truly,  if 
Mr.  Oglethorpe  had  not  roused  up  himself,  and  struck 
life  into  the  rowers,  I  do  not  know  but  most  of  us  might 
there  have  made  our  exit.  Towards  six  we  got  to  a 
little  place  called  Boar's  Island,  where  we  encamped  all 
night,  round  a  roaring  fire,  in  a  bed  of  canes,  where  the 
wind  could  not  reach  us.  Here  also  we  came  up  with  a 
large  boat,  called  a  pettiangur,  loaded  with  people  for  the 
Alatamaha,  who  had  set  out  before  us.  Next  morning 
after  prayers,  Mr.  Oglethorpe,  considering  that  our  own 
boat  was  overladen,  and  also  that  I  might  probably  be 
of  some  service  to  the  people,  asked  me  if  I  was  willing 
to  go  on  board  the  pettiangur,  whereto  I  readily  con- 
sented. Here,  during  the  remainder  of  our  passage,  I 
read  to  the  people,  and  instructed  them  as  I  had  oppor- 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  %\ 

tunity.  This  evening  we  lay  upon  St.  Catherine's,  a 
very  pleasant  island,  where  we  met  with  two  Indians 
a-hunting.  I  took  one  of  them  on  board  the  pettiangur, 
and  gave  him  some  biscuit  and  wine,  and  he  in  return 
sent  us  the  greatest  part  of  a  deer."  * 

Difficulties  had  already  arisen  in  various  forms  upon 
Oglethorpe, — some  of  them,  it  may  be  said,  in  a  measure, 
incident  to  such  an  undertaking,  and  others  of  a  more 
special  kind. 

A  proportion  of  the  settlers  had  proved  as  idle  and 
useless  members  of  society  in  America  as  they  had  been 
in  Great  Britain  ;  and  as  their  material  wants  had  been 
supplied  from  the  common  store,  they  felt  no  stimulus 
to  industry  and  frugality.  The  trustees,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  therefore  begun  to  look  round  for  a  better 
class  of  emigrants.  But  still  there  were  periodical 
expressions  of  discontent ;  now  it  was  the  exclusion  of 
spirits  ;  again  the  deprivation  of  slave-labour,  the  preva- 
lence of  which  in  the  neighbouring  colonies  was  held 
to  put  the  Georgians  at  great  disadvantage.  Then, 
the  mode  of  settlement,  it  must  be  allowed,  though 
devised  with  the  best  intentions,  did  not  give  the  settler 
a  sufficiently  close  and  permanent  interest  in  the  land  he 
cultivated.  Here,  in  Georgia,  more  than  a  century  ago, 
the  same  principle  was  found  at  work  as  certain  later 
educationists  have  dwelt  on  f — that  unless    associated 

*  Mr.  Tyerman's  Oxford  Methodists,  p.  76. 

t  See  Dr.  Rigg's  Essay  on  National  Education,  passim. 


5a  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

with  a  fair  prospect  of  free  proprietorship,  the  education 
and  moral  advancement  of  the  working  classes  must  be 
slow,  because  they  have  really  no  fixed  locality  or  home. 
It  was  an  error  of  the  trustees  not  to  have  given  more 
of  personal  interest  to  the  settlers.  If  any  man  could 
have  overcome  the  disadvantages  of  such  a  settlement, 
we  believe  that  Oglethorpe  would  have  done  it,  and 
indeed  he  almost  overcame  them,  but  not  quite. 

We  read  in  an  official  report :  "  By  this  time  the 
colonists  of  Georgia  had  become  fully  convinced  of  the 
disadvantages  of  that  plan  of  settlement  framed  by  the 
trustees.  However  well  intended,  it  was  found  to  be 
ill  adapted  to  their  circumstances,  and  likely  to  prove 
ruinous  to  the  settlement.  In  the  province  of  Carolina 
which  lay  adjacent,  the  colonists  discovered  that  there 
they  could  obtain  lands,  not  only  on  better  terms,  but 
also  liberty  to  purchase  negroes  to  assist  in  clearing  and 
cultivating  them.  They  found  labour  in  the  burning 
climate  intolerable,  and  the  hardships  and  dangers  to 
which  they  were  subjected  wholly  unbearable.  Instead 
of  raising  commodities  for  exportation,  the  Georgians, 
by  the  labour  of  several  years,  were  not  yet  able  to 
raise  sufficient  provisions  to  support  themselves  and 
families.  Under  such  discouragements,  numbers  retired 
to  the  Carolina  side  of  the  river,  where  they  had  better 
prospects  of  success." 

It  was,  above  all,  necessary  that  strong  colonies  should 
be  planted  along  the  frontiers.     The  service  rendered  by 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  53 

tlie  Scotch  people  in  virtue  of  their  very  position  in  the 
south  was  unspeakable  ;  but  detachments  of  the  Germans 
on  several  occasions  declined  to  move  to  the  south  to 
settle  on  the  frontiers,  on  the  very  ground  of  possible 
trouble  from  the  Spaniards,  varied  with  excuses  that 
they  could  not  forego  the  enjoyment  of  the  ministerial 
services  at  Ebenezer.  This  was  unavoidable,  perhaps, 
but  it  was  in  some  sense  a  peril  and  a  drawback,  even 
though  their  steadiness  and  frugality  and  industry  enabled 
them  to  plant  new  and  flourishing  settlements  nearer  to 
Savannah.  As  we  may  imagine,  this  was  a  delicate  and 
trying  circumstance  to  Oglethorpe  in  many  ways. 

The  necessity  of  a  stringent  military  service  was 
another  difficulty  that  increased  just  in  the  measure 
that  the  trustees  were  successful  in  finding  the  better 
class  of  settlers  that  they  wished.  The  Scotchmen  at 
Darien,  it  was  true,  were  good  settlers,  and  did  not 
object  to  military  exercises,  but  rather  liked  them ;  this, 
however,  was  not  the  case  with  the  Salzburgers  and 
Moravians,  and  their  exemption  from  service  out  of 
respect  to  their  principles  was  an  apple  of  discord  that 
became  more  and  more  obtrusive  as  time  went  on. 
For  the  Spaniards  had  not  failed  intermittently  to 
annoy  the  colony  ;  they  had  endeavoured  in  many  ways 
to  draw  the  Indians  from  their  allegiance,  and,  failing, 
they  had  committed  cruel  outrages.  It  was  necessary, 
therefore,  that  a  force  should  be  in  readiness  in  case  of 
any  more    effective   demonstration   being  made.     Skir- 


54  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

mishes  both  on  land  and  water  were  frequent ;  and  forts 
and  drillings  became  more  numerous  and  more  neces- 
sary, as  the  events  of  the  next  few  years  fully  proved. 

In  spite  of  the  money  invested  and  the  time  that  had 
been  spent,  the  silk  industry  did  not  succeed.  Every- 
thing possible  had  been  done  to  encourage  it.  But 
the  climate  did  not  prove  so  friendly  as  was  anticipated. 
Sudden  transitions  from  heat  to  cold  destroyed  great 
numbers  of  worms.  Suitable  labour,  too,  it  was  difficult 
to  hire  j  and  as  the  colonists  found  that  rice-culture  and 
afterwards  cotton  required  less  labour  and  paid  better, 
as  a  natural  consequence  they  devoted  themselves  to 
these. 

It  was  found  hard,  too,  to  keep  out  the  drink.  Drink- 
ing increased  precisely  as  the  schemes  of  the  colonists 
failed.  Such  ingenuity  was  exercised  to  import  it 
secretly  as,  had  it  been  applied  to  legitimate  trade,  would 
have  blessed  the  colony.  The  very  same  difficulties 
were  experienced  then  as  are  being  felt  by  many  philan- 
trophic  legislators  now,  the  chief  being  the  rebound 
against  an  enforced  sobriety  and  morality.  One  of  the 
Indian  chiefs,  when  urged  to  listen  to  the  doctrines  of 
Christianity,  and  become  a  convert,  keenly  replied,  "  Why 
these  a-re  Christians  at  Savannah  !  These  are  Christians 
at  Frederica  ! "  and  then  exclaimed,  "  Christians  drink  ! 
Christians  beat  men  !  Christians  tell  lies  !  no,  no;  me 
no  Christian  1 " 

In  addition  to  the  treaty  which  Oglethorpe  was  con- 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  55 

fronted  by,  there  now  came  all  too  decisive  limits  of 
discontent  at  the  condition  of  the  settlement  in  high 
quarters  at  home.  "  Misfortunes  come  not  single  spies 
but  in  battaHons,"  Oglethorpe  now  fully  verified. 

From  a  letter  which  Wesley  wrote  to  him  on  February 
24,  1737,  we  learn  that  Sir  Robert  Walpole  had  turned 
against  the  general,  and  parliament  had  resolved  to  make 
a  strict  scrutiny  into  Georgian  affairs.*  Oglethorpe  had 
been  charged  with  misapplying  monies,  and  with  abus- 
ing his  entrusted  power.  Wesley  adds  :  "  Perhaps  in 
some  things  you  have  shown  you  are  but  a  man  ;  perhaps 
•I  myself  may  have  a  little  to  complain  of;  but,  oh,  what 
a  train  of  benefits  have  I  received  to  lay  in  the  balance 
against  it !  I  bless  God  that  ever  you  were  born.  I 
acknowledge  His  exceeding  mercy  in  casting  me  into 
your  hands.  I  own  you  generous  all  the  time  we  were 
at  sea  and  since.  I  am  indebted  to  you  for  a  thousand 
favours  here.  Though  all  men  should  revile  you,  yet 
will  not  I."  t 

Though  Wesley  had  been  willing  to  consider  the  whole 
of  the  Georgian  settlements  as  his  parish,  he  was  in  some 
degree  fettered  in  his  work  of  ministering  to  the  Indians 
through  the  unexpected  absence  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Quincy  in 
England.  This  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  stay  and 
preach  to  the  English  at  Savannah ;  and  this  circumstance 

•  Walpole  would  appear  to  have  been  moved  by  some  personal 
dislike  to  Oglethorpe  ;  for  he  uniformly  ti  ies  to  depreciate  him.  See 
LecUy's  "  History  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,"  vol.  ii.  p.  501. 

t  Tyerman's  Wesley,  vol.  i.  p.  136. 


56  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

was  perhaps  unfortunate.  His  high-church  views  and  his 
severity  in  several  respects  before  long  came  into  conflict 
with  the  feelings  of  many  of  the  settlers,  while  meantime 
his  one  desire  was  to  devote  himself  wholly  to  the  In- 
dians, as  he  had  hoped  to  do  when  he  left  England.  He 
was  by  and  by  joined  by  his  brother  Charles,  who,  with 
Mr.  Ingham,  did  noble  work  both  among  the  Indians 
and  the  settlers.  By  the  Indians  especially  Mr. 
Ingham  was  received  with  much  favour.  They  gave 
him  a  plot  of  fruitful  ground,  in  the  midst  of  which 
was  a  small  round  hill;  and  on  the  top  of  this  hill  a 
house  was  built  for  an  Indian  school.  The  house  was 
named  Irene.*  The  devotion  which  this  group  of  men 
showed  to  those  whom  they  had  come  to  teach  and  to 
befriend  shines  out  very  cheeringly  athwart  difficulties, 
misunderstandings,  and  some  imprudences  it  may  be 
prompted  by  zeal.  All  were  prepared  to  illustrate  their 
teaching  by  example  even  in  the  minor  details  of  hfe. 
Some  of  the  boys  in  one  of  the  schools  went  barefooted, 
and  those  who  were  shod  looked  down  upon  them. 
Wesley  asked  his  friend  to  change  schools  with  him  for 
a  time.  He  astonished  the  boys  that  had  sneered  at  their 
barefooted  brethren  by  himself  coming  to  school  bare- 
footed ;  and  bare  feet  soon  ceased  to  be  a  mark  for  scorn, 
Ingham  was  sent  to  England  in  the  end  of  1736,  the 
chief  purpose  of  his  mission  being  to  procure  more 
help  for  the  colonists.  He  faithfully  executed  the  com- 
•  Wesley's  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  6i. 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  57 

mission ;  but  he  never  returned  to  Georgia.  He  after, 
wards  made  himself  a  famiUar  name  among  the  Metho- 
dists as  the  "Yorkshire  EvangeHst."  He  was  only 
twenty-three  when  he  went  out  to  Georgia. 

V. 

In  1737  Oglethorpe,  at  the  request  of  his  brother- 
trustees,  returned  to  England,  in  order  mainly  to 
represent  personally  to  the  British  Ministry  and  those 
concerned  the  real  causes  of  discontent,  and  also  the 
"necessity  for  a  stronger  force  than  the  colony  could 
furnish,  or  had  been  furnished,  against  the  Spaniards. 
He  urged  his  points  well ;  showing,  with  respect  to  the 
latter  question,  that  not  only  did  the  question  concern 
Georgia,  but  Carolina  and  other  colonies  also.  He 
returned  in  the  end  of  1738,  with  a  commission  to  erect 
additional  forts,  and  with  certain  supplies  and  aids.  His 
calculations  and  his  demands  for  yet  more  effective 
military  organisation,  were  fully  justified  by  the  event. 

There  were  now  in  Georgia  the  following  settle- 
ments : — Frederica  in  St.  Simon's  Island,  one  hundred 
miles  south  of  Savannah ;  Darien,  at  a  distance  of  about 
eighty  miles ;  New  Ebenezer,  about  nineteen  miles ; 
Highgate  and  Hampstead,  four  or  five  miles  south-west; 
and  Thunderbolt,  some  six  miles  south-east. 

Unfortunately,  in  some  respects  the  discontent  arising 
out  of  the  necessity  of  increased  military  service  had  led 


58  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

to  further  departures  from  the  colony,  thinning  the 
numbers  of  the  Moravian  brethren,  every  way  good 
settlers  ;  and  these  were  soon  to  be  followed  by  other 
departures.  We  read  in  a  good  and  really  unimpeach- 
able authority — 

"As  the  exemption  from  military  service  embittered 
the  minds  of  the  people  against  them,  some  of  the 
brethren  in  1738  left  all  their  flourishing  plantations, 
having  repaid  all  the  money  which  had  been  advanced 
towards  their  passage  and  settlement,  and  went  to 
Pennsylvania.  The  rest  were  left  undisturbed  for  a  while ; 
but  in  1739,  when  the  troubles  of  war  broke  out  afresh, 
being  again  molested  on  account  of  military  service,  they 
followed  their  brethren  in  the  spring  of  1740,  and  after- 
wards begun  the  colonies  of  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth,"* 

Oglethorpe's  care  for  the  Indian  people  never  lapsed ; 
and  proofs  of  it  were  continual.  We  may  notice  one  or 
two  in  this  place.  Dr.  Wilson,  Bishop  of  Sodor  and 
Man,  who  had  had  some  conversation  with  Oglethorpe 
while  in  London  in  1737,  promised  to  complete  a  simple 
manual  which  might  be  translated  into  their  language. 
This  was  not  accomplished  till  1741,  when  we  find  the 
bishop's  son  sending  to  Oglethorpe  a  copy  of  the  manual 
which  had  been  published  by  the  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  The  bishop,  after 
mentioning  in  his  preface  the  circumstance  in  which  the 
book  was  undertaken,  says — 

•  Cranz's  History  of  the  United  Brethren,  pp.  193-229. 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  59 

"  Mr.  Oglethorpe's  great  and  generous  concern  for  both 
the  present  and  the  future  interest  of  these  nations,  and  his 
earnest  desire  and  endeavours,  so  well  known,  to  civilise 
them  first,  and  make  them  more  capable  of  instruction 
in  the  ways  of  religion  and  civil  government,  and  his 
hearty  wishes  that  something  might  be  done  to  forward 
such  good  purposes,  prevailed  with  the  author,  however 
indifferently  qualified  for  such  a  work,  to  set  about  the 
following  essay  for  propagating  the  Gospel  among  Indians 
and  negroes."  * 

In  the  midst  of  the  most  arduous  labours,  Oglethorpe 
always  found  time  carefully  to  consider  any  request  or 
complaint  from  the  natives,  and  was  ready  to  under- 
take the  most  troublesome  journeys  for  their  good.  On 
the  17th  of  July  1739,  we  read  that  he  set  off  on  an 
expedition  to  Coweta,  to  hold  a  conference  with  the 
Creek  Indians.  On  his  journey,  computed  to  be  over 
three  hundred  miles,  he  and  his  attendants  met  with 
many  and  great  hardships.  They  were  obliged  to 
traverse  a  continuous  wilderness  without  roads,  through 
tangled  thickets  and  deep  and  broken  ravines,  across 
swamps  and  bogs  where  the  horses  sank  and  plunged  to 
the  great  danger  of  the  riders.  They  had  to  pass  large 
rivers  on  rafts  and  cause  horses  to  wade  and  swim,  and 
to  ford  others.     During  most  of  the  way  Oglethorpe  was 

*  The  Knowledge  and  Practice  of  Christianity  made  Easy  to 
the  Meanest  Capacity;  or,  an  Essay  Towards  the  Instruction  of  tlie 
Indians.     London,  1740.     i2ino. 


€o  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

under  the  necessity  of  sleeping  in  the  open  air,  wrapped 
in  his  cloak  or  a  blanket,  and  with  his  portmanteau  for 
a  pillow ;  or,  if  the  night- weather  was  uncomfortable 
or  rainy,  a  covert  was  constructed  of  cypress  boughs 
spread  over  poles.  For  two  hundred  miles  there  was 
not  a  hut,  not  a  human  face  to  be  seen,  unless  that  of 
some  Indian  hunter  traversing  the  woods.  At  length 
they  arrived  at  Coweta,  one  of  the  principal  towns  of  the 
Muscoghe  or  Creek  Indians,  where  the  chiefs  of  all  the 
tribes  were  assembled,  on  the  nth  of  August.  "Thus 
did  this  worthy  man,  to  protect  the  settlement,  which 
with  so  much  pecuniary  expense  and  devotedness  of 
time  he  had  founded,  now  expose  himself  to  the  hazards 
and  toils  of  a  comfortless  expedition,  that  would  have 
proved  insurmountable  to  one  of  a  less  enterprising  spirit 
and  steady  resolution." 

We  are  not  surprised  when  we  learn  that  General 
Oglethorpe  ingratiated  himself  highly  with  the  Creeks  by 
his  great  consideration  for  them  exhibited  in  such  a 
manner.  The  attitude  of  the  Spaniards  became  only 
more  and  more  threatening.  It  was  evident  that  more 
help  must  be  procured  from  the  home  country,  else  all 
might  be  lost.  So  serious  did  the  crisis  seem,  that 
Oglethorpe — a  man  not  apt  to  surrender  to  despondency, 
but  to  act  with  cool  bravery  and  decision — gave  orders 
that  all  who  fancied  they  could  better  themselves  by 
leaving  the  colony  should  do  so.  It  speaks  highly  for 
the  opinion — which  in  spite  of  some  discontentment — the 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  6l 

emigrants  had  formed  of  Oglethorpe,  that  not  one  availed 
himself  of  the  offer,* 

At  length,  in  December  1739,  the  smouldering  fire 
burst  into  flame.  Oglethorpe  had  received  orders  from  the 
Home  Government  to  attack  Florida,  and  would  have 
done  so  had  he  been  able  to  raise  a  sufficient  force ; 
but  the  Spaniards  by  an  attempt  upon  the  settlement  of 
Amelia — in  which  they  shot  at  and  killed  several  un- 
armed Highlanders,  aiterwards  hacking  and  mutilating 
their  bodies — made  this  inevitable  as  an  act  of  retaliation. 
Oglethorpe  now  determined,  as  soon  as  he  could  collect 
a  sufficient  number  of  boats,  to  make  an  incursion  into 
Florida.  With  such  a  contingent  as  he  could  muster, 
he  soon  embarked  and  made  his  way  to  St.  John's. 
Having  taken  and  destroyed  all  the  boats  he  found  in 
that  river,  he  landed  and  proceeded  a  day's  march  in 
the  direction  of  Augustine.  A  troop  of  Spanish  horse 
and  a  company  of  foot  showed  themselves  preparing 
to  attack,  but  the  Indians  advancing  with  the  war-whoop 
drove  them  off.  The  war  once  begun  went  on  with 
varying  success,  Oglethorpe's  vigilance  only  sufficing  to 
stave  off  disaster. 

While  these  agents  of  disturbance  were  at  work, 
Oglethorpe's  wisdom  and  goodwill  had  supplied  many 
counteracting  elements.  He  had  infected  the  better 
classes  of  emigrants  with  a  complete  trust  in  him,  and 
such  an  enthusiasm  for  the  objects  he  had  at  heart,  as 
•  Harris's  Memorials,  p.  203. 


6s  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

enabled  them  to  undergo  many  deprivations.  The 
Indians  too  maintained  towards  him  their  first  attitude, 
in  spite  of  many  endeavours  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards 
to  alienate  them.  One  of  his  greatest  disappointments 
had  arisen  from  the  conscientious  manner  in  which  he 
had  endeavoured  to  provide  for  religious  teaching. 
John  Wesley,  after  a  period  of  most  devoted  ministration, 
unfortunately  became  involved  in  a  difference  with  some 
persons,  who  raised  an  action  against  him  in  the  local 
court  for  defamation  of  character;  and  this  led  to  his 
leaving  Georgia,  in  circumstances  that  were  not  well 
calculated  to  further  the  end  for  which  he  had  gone 
thither.  He  had  shown  zeal  and  self-denial  more  than 
prudence.  He  left  Georgia  in  December  1737,  and 
reached  England  in  February  1738.  Whitefield  had 
left  England  for  Georgia  before  Wesley's  arrival.  He 
reached  Savannah  in  May,  and  for  a  time  devoted  him- 
self energetically  to  the  work  which  Wesley  had  begun. 
He  sat  by  the  deathbed  of  the  chief  Tomo  Chichi, 
preached  at  Savannah,  visited  Frederica  and  other 
places.  He  sailed  for  England  in  about  a  year  to 
receive  priest's  orders,  and  to  obtain  money  for  an 
Orphan  Home  on  which  he  had  set  his  heart.  The 
vessel  was  caught  in  a  storm,  the  officers  lost  their 
reckoning,  and  provisions  failed.  The  daily  rations 
were  reduced  to  an  ounce  or  two  of  salt  beef,  a  pint 
of  water,  and  a  small  cake  made  of  flour  and  skimmings 
of  the  pot.     Whitefield  acted  nobly :   he  was  a  power 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  6^ 

in  comforting  and  cheering  others.  His  diary  tells 
of  the  calm  Christian  spirit  his  sufferings  bred  in  him. 
Here  is  one  passage — 

"  Blessed  be  God  for  these  things  ;  I  rejoice  in  them 
daily.  They  are  no  more  than  what  I  expected,  and 
I  know  they  are  preparations  for  future  mercies.  God 
of  His  infinite  mercy  humble  and  try  me,  till  I  am  rightly 
disposed  to  receive  them.  Amen.  Lord  Jesus,  Amen. 
It  pities  me  often  to  see  my  brethren,  lying  in  the  dust 
as  they  have  done,  these  many  weeks,  and  exposed  to 
such  straits  ;  for  God  knows  both  their  bodies  and  souls 
are  dear  to  me.  But  thanks  be  to  God,  they  bear  up 
well,  and  I  hope  we  shall  all  now  learn  to  endure  hard- 
ships like  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ." 

His  return  to  Georgia  was  delayed,  owing  to  the  great 
religious  revival  which  originated  in  his  preaching  at 
Kingswood;  but  in  1739  he  returned  to  the  colony,  and 
preached  and  worked  there  with  much  success  till  the 
autumn  of  1741,  so  that  he  was  a  witness  to  some  of 
the  most  difficult  and  exacting  labours  the  general 
underwent  in  a  time  of  war,  and  his  testimony  has  its 
own  value.  We  find  him  writing  thus  to  Mr.  Ingham 
on  March  28th,  1740:  "How  glad  I  should  be  of  a 
letter  from  dear  brother  Ingham.  When  shall  my  soul 
be  refreshed  with  hearing  that  the  work  of  the  Lord 
prospers  in  his  hand  ?  I  suppose  before  now  you  have 
received  my  letters  and  seen  my  journal.  I  believe 
God   is   yet   preparing   great  things  for  us.      Many  at 


64  JAMES  OGLETHORPE, 

Charlestown  lately  were  brought  to  see  their  wants  of 
Jesus  Christ.  The  Orphan  Home  goes  on  bravely.  I 
have  forty  children  to  maintain,  besides  workmen  and 
their  assistants.  The  great  Householder  of  the  world 
does,  and  will,  I  am  persuaded,  nobly  provide  for  us 
all.  The  colony  itself  is  in  a  very  declining  way ;  but 
our  extremity  is  God's  opportunity.  Our  brethren,  I 
trust,  go  forward  in  the  spiritual  life." 

The  ebb  and  flow  of  the  wave  of  Spanish  invasion  it 
would  be  wearisome  for  us  to  follow  out  in  full  detail 
Forts  had  to  be  raised,  scout-boats  kept  perpetually 
afloat,  to  intercept  Spanish  cruisers  bent  on  stopping 
the  supplies  of  grain  and  other  materials  to  Georgia. 
Even  in  the  short  intervals  during  which  peace  was 
maintained,  efforts  were  constantly  made  to  secure  poli- 
tical advantages.  We  read  that  at  one  period  the 
jealousy  of  the  Spaniards  was  so  inflamed,  that  through 
their  ambassador  they  demanded  that  Oglethorpe  should 
be  recalled  from  Georgia.  The  "  London  Daily  Post " 
of  date  says — 

"  If  this  be  the  fact,  and  there  is  no  doubt  of  it,  we 
have  a  most  undeniable  proof  that  the  Spaniards  dread 
the  ability  of  Mr.  Oglethorpe.  It  is,  of  course,  a  glorious 
testimony  to  his  merit,  and  a  certificate  of  his  patriotism 
that  ought  to  endear  him  to  every  honest  Briton." 

Seeing  that  no  dependence  could  be  placed  on  any 
pledges,  the  trustees  petitioned  his  Majesty  that  a  regi- 
ment might  be  raised  for  the  defence  and  protection  of 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  65 

the  colony.  This  was  granted.  Oglethorpe  was  em- 
powered to  raise  this  regiment,  and  was  appointed 
General  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  his  Majesty's  forces 
in  Carolina  and  Georgia. 

"  This  regiment  he  raised  in  a  very  short  time,  as  he 
disdained  to  make  a  market  of  the  service  of  his  country 
by  selling  commissions,  but  got  such  officers  appointed 
as  were  gentlemen  of  family  and  character  in  their 
respective  counties  ;  and,  as  he  was  sensible  what  an 
advantage  it  was  to  the  troops  of  any  nation  to  have  in 
every  company  a  certain  number  of  such  soldiers  as  had 
been  bred  up  in  the  character  of  gentlemen,  he  engaged 
about  twenty  young  gentlemen  of  no  fortune  to  serve 
as  cadets  in  his  regiment,  all  of  whom  he  afterwards 
advanced  by  degrees  to  be  officers,  as  vacanies  happened  ; 
and  was  so  far  from  taking  any  money  for  the  favour, 
that  to  convey  them  he  gave,  upon  their  advancement, 
what  was  necessary  to  pay  the  fees  of  their  commissions, 
and  to  provide  themselves  for  appearing  as  officers."* 
"He  carried  with  him  also,"  says  another  writer,  "forty 
supernumeraries  at  his  own  expense ;  a  circumstance 
very  extraordinary  in  our  armies,  especially  in  our  planta- 
tions ;  and  with  a  view  to  create  in  them  a  greater  interest 
in  the  colony  and  to  induce  them  to  become  settlers, 
every  man  was  allowed  to  take  with  him  a  wife,  for 
whose  support  additional  pay  and  rations  were  offered.! 

*  London  Majjazine  for  1757,  p.  546. 
+  Gentleman's  Magazine,  vol.  viii.  p.  164. 

B 


66  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

This  was  in  view  of  the  expedition  against  Florida, 
which  led  to  the  unfortunate  affair  of  St.  Augustine. 
In  a  manifesto  issued  by  Oglethorpe  on  April  i,  1740,  he 
says — 

"  And  I  do  further  declare  that  whatever  share  of 
plunder  shall  come  to  me  as  general  and  commander  of 
the  said  forces,  I  will  apply  the  same  totally  towards  the 
relief  of  such  men  as  may  happen  to  be  maimed  or 
wounded  in  the  said  expedition,  and  towards  assisting 
the  widow  sand  children  of  any  of  the  said  force  that 
may  happen  to  be  killed  in  the  said  service  ;  and  for  the 
rewarding  of  such  as  shall  perform  any  distinguishing 
brave  action.  No  Indian  enemy  is  to  be  taken  as  a 
slave,  for  all  Spanish  and  Indian  prisoners  do  belong 
to  his  Majesty,  and  are  to  be  treated  as  prisoners  and  not 
as  slaves." 

In  spite  of  the  utmost  care  and  bravery  the  attack  on 
St.  Augustine's  did  not  succeed,  and  Oglethorpe's  forces 
had  to  withdraw.  For  his  conduct  in  this  matter  Ogle- 
thorpe has  been  most  unjustly  blamed  and  criticised. 
He  failed  mainly  because  Carolina  did  not  act  in 
conformity  with  her  pledges  to  supply  a  contingent  of 
800  men.  Instead  of  800  veterans,  400  raw  youths  were 
sent  under  Colonel  Vanderdupen,  from  whom  no 
efficient  aid  was  derived.  Those  who  had  shared 
the  "  burden  and  heat  of  the  day  "  in  that  unfortunate 
expedition,    were   the   most    forward    to    defend    their 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  67 

general.     We  may  listen  to  one  witness  and  then  leave 
this  part  of  the  subject : — 

"  The  great  cause  of  the  Miscarriage  was  the  Fewness 
of  our  Numbers,  the  Want  of  Pioneers,  a  proper  train  of 
Artillery  and  other  Materials,  which  were  promised  by 
the  Government  of  Carolina,  but  never  sent.  I  may  also 
very  safely  add  the  Badness  of  the  Forces  of  that  Pro- 
vince, among  whom,  I  am  very  sure,  there  were  not  250 
Men  fit  to  bear  Arms,  and  even  these  all  raw  and  undis- 
ciplined, and  very  often  inclined  to  be  mutinous,  most 
of  their  officers,  like  themselves,  being  only  Planters, 
■and  in  Carolina  on  an  equal  footing."  * 

We  have  abundant  testimony  that  Oglethorpe's 
statesmanship  did  not  fail  whilst  he  was  overwhelmed 
with  these  military  and  other  difficulties.  In  order 
that  the  burden  of  these  harassing  conflicts  with  the 
Spaniards  should  press  more  lightly  on  the  settlers, 
he  set  himself  resolutely  to  retrench  wherever  it  was 
possible.  He  disbanded  the  troop  of  Rangers,  who 
guarded  the  country  on  the  land  side,  though  they 
offered  to  serve  without  pay  ;  but  he  deemed  it  improper 
that  they  should  be  on  service  without  remuneration. 
The  garrisons  were  relieved  by  the  regiments,  so  that 
that  expense  ceased.     He  aimed  to  reconcile  the  dis- 

*  The  Spanish  Hireling  Detected  :  Being  a  Refutation  of  the 
Several  Falsehoods  and  Calumnies  in  a  late  Pamphlet  entitled  "An 
Impartial  Account  of  the  late  Expedition  against  St.  Augustine  under 
General  Oglethorpe.  By  George  Cadogan,  Lieutenant  in  General 
Oglethorpe's  Regiment.   1743. 


68  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

affected  by  his  good  offices.  With  very  timely  charity 
he  assisted  the  orphans,  the  widows,  and  the  sick ;  and 
contributed  towards  the  relief  of  the  most  destitute. 
As  the  most  efficient  testimony  that  could  be  cited,  we 
may  quote  a  letter  written  by  the  German  pastor,  M. 
Bolzius,  at  New  Ebenezer,  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Francke  at 
Halle,  dated  23d  July  1741 — 

"The  present  War  and  the  Burden  of  it  hath  not 
affected  us  yet,  and  we  don't  feel  the  least  of  it ;  and  in 
the  great  Dearness  the  Colony  suffered  last  Year,  we 
have  not  been  in  want  of  necessary  Provisions.  As  to 
the  present  Year,  we  have  a  very  hopeful  Prospect  of  a 
good  Harvest,  every  Thing  in  the  Fields  and  Gardens 
growing  so  delightful,  as  our  Eyes  have  seen  in  this 
Country  before.  If  Isaac,  by  the  Blessing  of  the  Lord, 
received  from  what  he  had  saved  an  Hundredfold,  I 
believe,  I  daresay,  to  the  great  Mercy  of  God  over  us, 
our  Salzburgers  will  get  a  thousandfold,  notwithstanding 
that  the  Corn,  when  it  came  out  of  the  Ground,  was 
eaten  quite  up  two  or  three  Times  by  the  Worms.  .  .  . 
Wheat,  Rice,  and  other  Grain  must  be  sowed  very  thin, 
because  each  Grain  brings  forth  fifty,  an  hundred,  or 
more  Stalks  and  Ears.  The  land  is  really  very  fruitful, 
if  the  Sins  of  the  Inhabitants,  and  the  Curse  of  God  for 
such  sins,  doth  not  eat  it  up,  which  was  formerly  the 
unhappy  Case  of  the  blessed  Land  of  Canaan.  And  I 
am  sorry  to  acquaint  you,  that  I  don't  find  in  some  of  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  Colony,  a  due  Thankfulness  for,  and 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  69 

Contentment  with,  the  many  Benefits  bestowed  on  them 
for  several  Years  together;  although  those  who  are 
industrious,  and  will  labour  for  their  Maintenance,  live 
contentedly  and  subsist  under  the  Blessing  of  God."* 

While  Oglethorpe  was  thus  ardently  labouring  for  the 
public  good,  the  malcontents  of  Savannah,  under  the 
leadership  of  a  worthless  but  clever  adventurer,  Dr. 
Tailfer,  were  as  busily  endeavouring  to  ruin  the  province. 
Their  schemes  were  chiefly  directed  to  the  obstruction 
of  a  respectable  population  in  the  colony,  until  the 
trustees  should  be  forced,  by  its  dwindling  into  weakness 
and  insignificance,  to  gratify  the  eagerness  of  the  most 
worthless  of  the  people  for  slaves  and  spirituous  liquors, 
so  that  they  might  indulge  to  the  extent  of  their  wishes 
in  idleness  and  dissipation. 

The  difficulties  with  which  General  Oglethorpe  now 
had  to  contend  were  peculiarly  onerous  and  perplexing, 
not  only  with  the  Spanish  foes, — with  the  restless 
Indians, — with  the  clamorous  settlements, — with  dis- 
contented troops, — with  meagre  supplies, — with  the 
defection  of  Carolina, — with  the  protest  of  his  bills,  and 
with  the  refusal  of  a  just  naval  protection;  but  the 
officers  of  his  regiment  were  at  enmity  with  him  and 
with  each  other,  and  crimination  and  recrimination 
followed,  disturbing  the  peace,  and  weakening  the 
efficiency  of  the  military  corps. 

*  Historical  Tracts  and  other  Papers  relating  to  the  Colonies  in 
Nortli  America.     Collected  by  Peter  Force.    Vol.  i. 


70  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

For  the  unrest  caused  by  the  rumours  of  Spanish 
invasion  still  continued.  Oglethorpe  was  making  another 
great  effort  finally  to  attack  and  disperse  the  Spanish 
forces  that  hovered  about  the  borders  and  the  coasts  of 
Georgia,  when  welcome  news  arrived  that  they  had 
become  dispirited  and  disunited  under  his  well-main- 
tained defence.  The  troops  of  Cuba  and  those  of  St. 
Augustine  had  fallen  out  and  refused  to  act  together, 
and  this  led  to  the  complete  withdrawal  of  the  Spanish 
troops  in  1742.  The  Spanish  fleet  had  on  one  occasion 
approached  very  near  to  Frederica,  but  by  admirable 
readiness,  order,  and  organisation,  was  beaten  back. 
Though  there  were  rumours  of  a  renewal  of  the  war  in 
1 743,  nothing  further  came  of  them. 

Thus  we  see  that  Oglethorpe,  by  unceasing  vigilance, 
and  by  the  skilful  disposal  of  small  forces,  kept  the 
Spaniards  at  bay.  He  knew  the  points  at  which  alone  it 
was  possible  for  them  to  make  entry  and  overrun  the 
province,  and  he  skilfully  concentrated  strength  on  these. 
For  several  years  amid  such  obstacles  as  would  have 
wholly  overpowered  a  weaker  man,  he  withstood  assaults 
without  and  divisions  within  ;  and  at  length  the  Spaniards, 
baffled,  wearied  out,  and  wasted  in  their  long-continued 
efforts,  withdrew  from  the  contest,  greater  losers  even 
than  those  they  had  endeavoured  to  overthrow. 

Whitefield  writes  on  this  point :  "  The  deliverance 
of  Georgia  from  the  Spaniards  is  such  as  cannot  be 
paralleled    out   of    the   Old   Testament.      I    find    the 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  71 

Spaniards  had  cast  lots,  and  determined  to  give  no 
quarter.  They  intended  to  have  attacked  Georgia; 
but  they  were  wonderfully  repelled,  and  sent  away 
before  our  ships  were  seen."* 

In  1744  Oglethorpe  was  summoned  home  to  answer 
an  impeachment  from  one  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cook, 
relating  to  his  conduct  of  the  war  with  the  Spaniards. 
Under  pretence  of  requiring  witnesses  from  Georgia, 
Cook  secured  delay  after  delay,  much  to  the  trouble  of 
Oglethorpe.  When  at  length  the  trial  did  come  on,  the 
court  sat  only  two  days ;  and,  after  a  strict  scrutiny  into 
the  complaint  article  by  article  of  the  nineteen  specific 
charges,  the  board  were  of  opinion  that  the  whole  and 
every  article  thereof  was  groundless,  false,  and  malicious. 
On  the  presentation  of  the  report  to  his  Majesty,  he  was 
pleased  to  order  that  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cook  should  be 
dismissed  the  service. 

"When  I  reflect,"  says  one  who  was  an  eyewitness  of 
the  scenes  at  the  siege  of  St.  Augustine,  "  upon  General 
Oglethorpe's  great  Qualities,  and  his  indefatigable  Zeal  in 
serving  his  Country ;  his  many  hazardous  and  painful 
Expeditions  (particularly  that  of  the  Siege  of  Augustine, 
in  which  he  was  betrayed  and  neglected  by  the  mean 
CaroHna  Regiment,  and  many  of  the  Men  of  WV) ;  and 
his  late  Glorious  Defeat  of  the  Spanish  Invasion  of 
Georgia:  When  I  reflect  on  his  breaking  a  good  and 
vigorous  Constitution,  to  render  the  Persons  under  his 
•  Whitefield's  Letters,  vol.  i.  p.  467. 


72  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

Command  easy  and  happy ;  his  extending  his  compas- 
sion to  the  miserable  of  all  Sorts,  and  in  short  his  Posses- 
sion of  every  Civil  and  Military  Virtue ;  I  am  shock'd, 
that  Envy  itself  dare  mean  to  taint  his  Character  with  its 
foul  Blast.  But  what  Merit  is  Proof  against  some  foul 
Tongues  and  fouler  Hearts,  when  God  Himself  cannot 
escape  them  ?  .  .  .  From  an  impartial  survey  of  his 
actions,  the  Tendency  of  which  I  have  perhaps  had 
more  Opportunities  than  most  others  to  contemplate,  I 
can't  forbear  to  say  with  Addison,  only  with  the  varia- 
tion of  the  Person, — 

•  Oglethorpe's  Acts  appear  divinely  bright 
And  friendly  shine  in  their  own  native  Light, 
Raised  of  themselves,  their  genuine  Charms  they  boast, 
i^nd  those  who  paint  them  truest,  praise  them  most.'  "  * 

And  companion  verses  appeared  at  the  time  in  the 
•'  South  Carolina  Gazette  " — 

"  The  fame  of  tyrants  should,  if  justice  swayed. 
Be  howled  thro'  deserts  their  ambition  made  ; 
But  Oglethorpe  has  gained  a  well-earned  praise, 
"Who  made  the  heirs  of  want  the  lords  of  ease  : 
The  gloomy  wood  to  plenteous  harvests  changed, 
And  founded  cities  where  the  wild  beasts  ranged. 
Then  may  the  great  award  assigned  by  Fate 
Crown  her  own  wish  to  see  the  work  complete." 

*  A  Relation  and  Journal  of  a  late  Expedition  to  the  Gates  of 
St.  Augustine  in  Florida,  conducted  by  the  Hon.  General  James 
Oglethorpe.  By  a  Gentleman  Volunteer  in  the  said  Expedition. 
P.  34. 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  73 


VI. 


Having  performed  such  conspicuous  service — done 
more  than  any  other  man  to  curb  the  power  of  Spain  in 
America — Oglethorpe  returned  home,  not  to  rest  and 
to  honour,  but  to  new  labours  and  trials,  in  order  to 
relieve  himself  from  the  encumbrances  brought  on  his 
estates  by  the  liabilities  he  had  so  generously  incurred 
in  the  public  service. 

On  the  15th  of  September  1744  he  married  a 
daughter  of  Sir  Nathan  Wright,  Bart.,  of  Charham  Hall, 
Essex,  and  would  probably  have  retired  from  the  army 
and  devoted  himself  to  his  own  affairs,  had  not  the 
rebellion  of  1 745  made  occasion  for  his  services.  He 
took  the  field  at  the  head  of  four  companies  of  cavalry, 
which,  out  of  respect  to  his  former  grand  achievements, 
were  called  "  The  Georgian  Rangers."  Especially  was 
he  concerned  in  an  engagement  near  the  village  of 
Clifton,  where,  owing  to  his  failing  to  force  an  advance, 
it  was  said  that  he  was  the  occasion  of  loss,  though  his 
friends  urged  on  his  behalf  that  he  had  only  exercised 
a  proper  prudence ;  that  if  he  had  advanced  in  the  cir- 
cumstances, it  would  only  have  shown  rashness  and  led 
to  needless  bloodshed.  This  was  the  view  taken  of  the 
affair  by  the  court-martial  before  which  Oglethorpe  was 
brought  in  1 746.  The  decision,  after  the  most  careful 
consideration,  was,  as  might  have  been  expected,  that 


H  JAMES  OGLETlTOnPE. 

the  necessities  of  the  halt  were  evident ;  that  it  was 
clear  an  attack,  under  the  circumstances,  would  have 
implied  both  inhumanity  and  rashness  ;  and  the  General 
wa3  honourably  acquitted.  And  not  only  honourably 
acquitted  of  the  charge  which  enemies  had  tried  to 
fasten  upon  him  in  order  to  clear  themselves,  he  was 
promoted  in  the  army  in  1747,  sufficiently  showing  that 
his  superiors  and  the  crown  did  not  cherish  any  grudge 
against  him.  When  the  British  Herring  Fishery  was 
established  in  1750  he  took  an  active  part  in  it  and 
became  one  of  the  council. 

He  never  forgot  the  causes  which,  in  earlier  days,  had 
engaged  his  mind  and  heart.  He  succeeded,  in  1749, 
in  carrying  a  bill  through  Parliament  exempting  the 
Moravians  in  England  from  the  necessity  of  violating 
their  religious  sentiments  by  taking  oaths  or  bearing 
arms. 

In  spite  of  his  honourable  career  and  his  great  useful- 
ness, his  public  life  was  brought  to  a  close  in  1754  by 
his  being  defeated  in  a  contest  for  the  representation  of 
Haslemere,  which  he  had  represented  in  Parliament  for 
the  long  period  of  thirty-two  years. 

In  February  1765  he  received  the  rank  of  General  of 
all  his  Majesty's  forces,  and  for  many  years  before  his 
death  was  the  oldest  general  on  the  staff. 

The  spirit  of  Oglethorpe's  last  days  was  quite  in 
keeping  with  his  earlier  life,  though  now  he  moved  on  a 
less  conspicuous  stage.     He  sought  out   and   relieved 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  75 

many  who  needed  aid;  he  was  the  intimate  friend  of 
the  best  and  wisest  men  of  his  day.  He  exercised  a 
genial  and  benignant  hospitality,  and  was  ready,  as  he 
had  been  in  younger  days,  to  aid  the  ascent  of  genius 
striving  amid  difficulty  and  discouragement.  This,  in- 
deed, was  one  of  the  ties  which  bound  him  in  brotherly 
regard  to  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  who  was  wont  to  speak 
of  him  with  the  utmost  love  and  reverence.  Boswell, 
in  his  own  characteristic,  gossipping  way,  tells  us  of  the 
first  kindly  contact  of  Oglethorpe  with  Johnson — 

"  One  of  the  warmest  patrons  of  this  poem  ['  London '] 
on  its  first  appearance  was  General  Oglethorpe,  whose 
strong  'benevolence  of  soul'  was  unabated  during  the 
course  of  a  very  long  life,  though  it  is  painful  to  think, 
that  he  had  but  too  much  reason  to  become  cold  and 
callous  and  discontented  with  the  world,  from  the 
neglect  which  he  experienced  of  his  public  and  private 
worth,  by  those  in  whose  power  it  was  to  gratify  so 
gallant  a  veteran  with  marks  of  distinction.  This  extra- 
ordinary person  was  as  remarkable  for  his  learning  and 
taste  as  for  his  other  eminent  qualities ;  and  no  man 
was  more  prompt,  active,  and  generous  in  acknowledging 
merit  I  have  heard  Johnson  gratefully  acknowledge,  in 
his  presence,  the  kind  and  effectual  support  which  he 
gave  to  his  '  London,'  though  he  was  then  unacquainted 
with  its  author."* 

We  have  many  glimpses  of  Oglethorpe  in  the  course 
*  Boswell,  vol.  i.  p.  140. 


76  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

of  Boswell's  Johnson,  and  in  all  of  them  he  appears 
in  the  most  flattering  aspect.  Johnson,  it  would  seem, 
was  never  tired  of  asking  him  questions  about  his  earlier 
experiences  in  field  and  camp,  as  well  as  about  Georgia ; 
and  indeed  seemed  exceptionally  anxious  to  have  had  it 
in  his  power  to  write  a  memoir  of  him.  How  different 
might  have  been  Oglethorpe's  fame  if  Dr.  Johnson  had 
overcome  the  General's  reserve,  and  been  favoured  with 
those  materials  for  which  he  asked  ! 

Boswell  tells  of  one  meeting,  that  "Johnson  urged 
General  Oglethorpe  to  give  to  the  world  his  Life.  He 
said,  *I  know  no  man  whose  Life  would  be  more  in- 
teresting. If  I  were  furnished  with  materials,  I  would  be 
very  glad  to  write  it.'  The  General  seemed  unwilling  to 
enter  on  it  at  this  time,"  adds  Boswell  in  a  footnote  \ 
**  but  upon  a  subsequent  occasion  he  communicated  to 
me  a  number  of  particulars  which  I  have  committed  to 
writing ;  but  I  was  not  sufficiently  diligent  in  procuring 
more  from  him,  not  apprehending  that  his  friends  were 
so  soon  to  lose  him ;  for  notwithstanding  his  great  age, 
he  was  very  healthy  and  vigorous,  and  was  at  last  carried 
ofl"  by  a  violent  fever,  which  is  often  fatal  at  any  period 
of  life." — Bosivell,  p.  296. 

This  is  a  specimen  of  the  anecdotes  with  which 
Oglethorpe  was  wont  to  regale  the  meetings  at  Dr. 
Johnson's — 

"  The  General  told  us  that  when  he  was  a  very  young 
man,  I  think  only  fifteen,  serving  under  Prince  Eugene 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  77 

of  Savoy,  he  was  sitting  in  a  company  at  table  with  the 
Prince  of  Wirtemburg.  The  prince  took  up  a  glass  of 
wind,  and,  by  a  fillip,  made  some  of  it  fly  in  Ogle- 
thorpe's face.  Here  was  a  nice  dilemma.  To  have 
challenged  him  instantly  might  have  fixed  a  quarrelsome 
character  upon  the  young  soldier ;  to  take  no  notice  of 
it  might  have  been  considered  as  cowardice.  Ogle- 
thorpe, therefore,  keeping  his  eye  upon  the  prince  and 
smiling  all  the  time,  as  if  he  took  what  his  highness  had 
done  in  jest,  said,  ^ Mon  Prince' — I  forget  the  French 
words  he  used;  the  purport,  however,  was — 'that's  a 
good  joke ;  but  we  do  it  much  better  in  England  ; '  and 
threw  a  whole  glass  of  wine  in  the  prince's  face.  An 
old  general,  who  sat  by,  said,  *//  a  bienfait,  mon  Prince ; 
vous  Favez  commence;'  and  thus  all  ended  in  good 
humour. 

**  Dr.  Johnson  then  said,  *  Pray,  General,  give  us  an 
account  of  the  siege  of  Belgrade ; '  upon  which  the 
General,  pouring  out  a  little  wine  upon  the  table, 
described  everything  with  a  wet  finger :  *  Here  we  were ; 
here  were  the  Turks,'  &c.,  &c.  Johnson  listened  with 
the  closest  attention."  * 

With  Edmund  Burke,  Goldsmith,  and   Dr.  Warton, 

also,  he  was  on  terms  of  intimacy.     Pope  devoted  to  his 

praise  some  well-known  lines — 

"  One  driven  by  strong  benevolence  of  soul 
Shall  fly,  like  Oglethorpe,  from  pole  to  pole." 

*  Boswell,  vol.  iii.  pp.  217,  2x8, 


78  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

Hannah  More,  in  a  letter  to  her  sister,  thus  celebrates 
her  introduction  to  Oglethorpe,  in  1784 — 

"  I  have  got  a  new  admirer ;  it  is  General  Oglethorpe, 
perhaps  the  most  remarkable  man  of  his  time.  He  was 
foster-brother  to  the  Pretender,  and  is  much  above 
ninety  years  old;  the  finest  figure  you  ever  saw.  He 
perfectly  realises  all  my  ideas  of  Nestor.  His  literature 
is  great,  his  knowledge  of  the  world  extensive,  and  his 
faculties  as  bright  as  ever.  He  is  one  of  the  three 
persons  still  living,  who  were  mentioned  by  Pope  ;  Lord 
Mansfield  and  Lord  Marchmont  are  the  other  two.  He 
was  the  intimate  friend  of  Southern,  the  tragic  poet,  and 
of  all  the  wits  of  that  time.  He  is,  perhaps,  the  oldest 
man,  of  a  gentleman,  living.  I  went  to  see  him  the 
other  day,  and  he  would  have  entertained  me  by  quoting 
passages  of  Sir  Eldred.  He  is  quite  a  preux  chevalier, 
heroic,  romantic,  and  full  of  gallantry." 

She  remarks  of  another  meeting  that  Mr.  Burke 
talked  a  great  deal  of  politics  with  General  Oglethorpe. 

Dr.  Warton,  speaking  of  Oglethorpe,  said,  "  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  knowing  him  well;"  and,  in  reference  to 
Pope's  well-known  couplet,  he  remarked :  "  Here  are 
lines  which  will  justly  confer  immortality  on  man,  who 
well  deserved  so  magnificent  a  eulogium.  He  was 
at  once  a  great  hero  and  a  great  legislator.  The 
vigour  of  his  mind  and  body  has  seldom  been  equalled. 
The  vivacity  of  his  genius  continued  to  great  old  age. 
The  variety  of  his  adventures,  and  the  very  different 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  79 

scenes  in  which  he  had  been  engaged,  made  me  regi-et 
that  his  life  has  never  been  written.  Dr.  Johnson  once 
offered  to  do  it,  if  the  General  would  furnish  the 
materials.  Johnson  had  a  great  regard  for  him,  for  he 
was  one  of  the  first  persons  who,  in  all  companies, 
praised  his  '  London.'  His  first  campaign  was  made  under 
Prince  Eugene  against  the  Turks,  and  that  great  general 
always  spoke  of  Oglethorpe  in  the  highest  terms.  But 
his  settlement  of  the  colony  of  Georgia  gave  a  greater 
lustre  to  his  character  than  even  his  military  exploits." 

General  Oglethorpe  was,  in  some  respects,  advantage- 
ously distinguished  from  common  philanthropists ;  who 
are  too  apt  to  fix  their  whole  attention  on  a  single  point, 
failing  to  see  it  in  its  relation  to  others,  and  exaggerating 
it  to  such  a  degree  that  humanity  itself  takes  testimony 
against  them  and  refuses  to  accept  their  well-meant 
panacea.  Oglethorpe's  practical  education  saved  him 
from  this.  He  has  been  blamed  for  irritability  and 
impatience ;  but  he  belonged  to  the  class  of  rapid, 
originating  intellects,  who  never  can  keep  pace  with  the 
purposes  that  seem  to  be  easily  realisable.  To  such 
men  some  impatience  may  well  be  forgiven  in  view  of  the 
impulses  they  impart  to  others,  which  else  were  wanting  ; 
and  surely  the  man  who  showed  such  contentment  amid 
circumstances  of  trial  and  hardship,  and  carried  his 
great  purpose  in  face  of  such  overpowering  odds,  cannot 
be  denied  some  share  of  the  quality  of  genius  which  Mr. 
Carlyle  has  called  patience. 


So  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 

"His  great  powers,"  says  one,  "could  not  fail  to  make 
a  deep  impression  even  on  those  who  did  not  understand 
his  lofty  self-consecration  and  devotion  to  others.  Neither 
could  they  help  respecting  the  apostolical  zeal  which 
enabled  him  to  despise  all  ordinary  comforts — fording 
rivers,  crossing  swamps,  sleeping  on  the  ground,  and 
exposing  himself  to  all  kinds  of  hardship  for  the  good 
of  others." 

Oglethorpe  died  in  1785,  at  the  ripe  age  of  ninety-six. 

History  has  been  figured  as  a  great  Morgue,  where 
the  dead  lie  waiting  recognition  and  an  impartial 
verdict.  A  few  names  dwell  unchallenged  on  the  lips 
and  the  minds  of  men.  They  sum  up,  as  it  were  in 
abstract,  the  element,  the  quality,  the  great  event ;  some 
phase  of  truth  is,  so  to  speak,  polarised  in  them,  and  this 
suffices  for  the  general  need.  But  the  careful  inquirer 
soon  finds  that,  however  great,  no  man  stands  by 
himself;  that  his  path  was  prepared  for  him;  that  he 
cannot  be  seen  completely  save  in  a  perspective,  which 
is  formed  by  the  figures  that  surrounded  him  or  went 
before  him.  From  this  arises  one  of  the  great  difficulties 
of  biography — to  isolate,  and  yet  not  to  isolate  too  much 
— to  fetch  the  chief  figure  forward,  and  yet  not  wholly  to 
ignore  the  influences  to  which  he  was  indebted  a«nd 
which  enabled  him  to  play  the  precise  part  that  he  did. 
There  were  reformers  before  Luther;  John  Howard 
and  Elizabeth  Fry  had  their  forerunners,  who,  in  effect, 
made    their   work    possible.      Oglethorpe   was    one  of 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE.  gi 

these — one  of  the  most  prominent  and  essential  of 
these ;  and,  though  it  is  not  intended  to  lessen  by  a 
leaf  the  laurel  of  later  heroes,  yet  it  is  claimed  that 
Oglethorpe  deserves  more  recognition  than  he  has  got, 
and  ought  to  have  a  fitting  monument — the  tribute  of 
loyal  remembrance — in  English  minds  and  hearts.  He 
was  politician,  soldier,  reformer,  and  founder  of  a 
colony,  and  in  all  of  these  capacities  he  did  his  country 
signal  service;  but  in  neither  aspect  would  he  have 
claimed  the  regard  we  crave  for  him  had  he  not 
been  first  and  foremost  a  philanthropist  and  prison- 
reformer. 


C     82     ) 


DAVID  ZEISBERGER  AND  THE  INDIANS. 


VERY  few,  we  believe,  beyond  the  circle  of  the 
Church  of  the  Moravians,  or  Bohemian  Brethren 
— the  "  Unitas  Fratrum,"  as  it  still  loves  to  style  itself — 
have  read,  far  less  studied,  those  "  Periodical  Accounts 
of  Missions  among  the  Heathen,"  which  are  regularly 
issued  in  the  easily-recognisable  dingy-blue  paper  covers. 
Yet,  beyond  most  reports,  they  are  richly  interesting, 
and  beyond  most  they  carry  the  imagination  to  distant 
places  and  scenes,  fragrant  with  Christian  associations. 
Before  any  of  the  modern  missionary  societies  now 
in  successful  operation  had  been  instituted,  or  British 
Christians  generally  had  awakened  to  the  necessity  of 
taking  practical  action  in  the  matter,  the  Moravian 
Brethren  had  established  missions  in  both  hemispheres. 
Their  mission  to  the  West  Indies  was  undertaken  as 
early  as  1732,  and  in  1733  the  first  missionaries  went 
to  Greenland.  The  name  and  work  of  Leonard  Dober 
yet  survives  in  several  of  the  West  Indian  stations,  and 
Greenland  still  has  its  New  Herrnhut,  making  us  think 


DA  VID  ZEISBERGER.  83 

of  many  heroic  labours.  There  are  stations  also  in 
Labrador,  in  South  Africa,  in  South  America,  on  the 
Mosquito  Coast,  among  the  Indians,  in  Australia,  and 
in  Central  Asia — all  carried  on  by  men  who  inherit  much 
of  the  apostolic  spirit  which  imbued  the  first  founders 
of  the  Church.  What  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable 
trait  in  the  Moravian  missionaries,  is  the  power  they 
have  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  most  trying  conditions 
of  life,  labouring  with  their  own  hands  as  they  yearn 
and  strive  to  bring  those  around  them  within  the  fold 
of  Christ.  Wherever  they  have  set  foot,  they  have 
called  beauty  and  fruitfulness  out  of  sterility,  frequently 
triumphing  over  the  very  elements.  Mr.  Andrew 
Wilson,  in  his  "  Abode  of  Snow,"  eloquently  tells  how 
the  Moravian  missionaries  have  created  an  oasis  amid 
the  wilds  of  the  lower  Himalayas.  They  have  made 
the  wilderness  (Lahaul  is  literally  '  Wilderness ')  to 
blossom  as  the  rose,  materially  as  well  as  spiritually. 
Out  of  the  barrenest  tracts  they  have  created  blooming 
farms  and  gardens,  and  have  produced  such  effects 
upon  the  people  as,  he  avouches,  are  not  to  be  judged 
by  the  number  of  their  converts.  The  immense  work 
done  in  the  far  North,  as  in  the  far  East,  with  such 
scanty  means  and  with  on  the  whole  so  little  stir,  would 
be  almost  incredible  did  we  not  know  the  traditions 
which  they  have  inherited,  and  the  training  which  they 
have  undergone.  The  men  of  to-day,  though  not  bound 
hard  and  fast  by  dead  rules,  yet  do  abide  by  certain 


84  DAVID  ZEISBERGER. 

principles  long  ago  developed,  applied,  and  found  worthy. 
Hence,  in  a  great  measure,  the  secret  of  their  success. 
If  we  are  at  all  right  in  this,  it  cannot  be  unprofitable  to 
glance  for  a  little  at  the  life  of  one  of  their  earliest  and 
greatest  missionaries — from  which  we  will  see  how  the 
seeds  of  the  harvest  that  are  now  being  reaped  in  many 
latitudes  were  sown  in  the  first  mission-fields  cultivated 
by  the  Moravians. 

Among  the  band  of  devoted  men  and  women  who  for 
conscience'  sake  fled  from  Moravia,  in  many  cases 
sacrificing  worldly  wealth,  to  seek  shelter  in  Count 
Zinzendorf's  Herrnhut,  or  "  watch  of  God,"  were  a 
worthy  couple,  David  and  Rosina  Zeisberger,  who 
carried  with  them  several  young  children.  The  Saxon 
Government,  ill-advised  in  this  regard,  soon  began  to 
look  with  such  disfavour  on  the  religious  settlement, 
as  made  its  maintenance  doubtful,  and  the  Zeisbergers 
were  of  the  party  who  went  with  the  noble  Nitschmann 
to  Georgia,  where,  a  Church  having  been  founded,  our 
own  John  Wesley  was  present  to  witness  the  ordination 
of  their  pastor,  Anthony  Seyfert,  and  thought  himself 
transported  back  to  the  times  of  the  apostles,  by  the 
impressive  simplicity  of  the  act. 

The  Zeisbergers  left  behind  them  a  little  boy,  David, 
whose  diligence  and  love  of  study  had  attracted  the 
attention  of  his  superiors,  m  order  that  he  might  the 
better  finish  his  education ;  and  this  circumstance  may 
be   said   to  have  determined  to  a  great  extent  a  very 


DA  VID  ZEISBERGER.  85 

remarkable  history.  When  fifteen  years  of  age,  David 
Zeisberger,  having  gained  the  favour  of  Count  Zinzendorf, 
was  taken  by  him  to  Herrndyk,  a  Moravian  settlement 
in  Holland,  where  he  was  employed  as  an  errand  boy. 
But  the  rigid  rules,  the  want  of  sympathy,  and  the  mis- 
trust showed  towards  him,  rendered  him  very  unhappy. 

He  was  sometimes  beaten  for  acts  of  which  he  was 
innocent,  and,  notwithstanding  his  resolve  to  bear  with 
the  injustice  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  grieving   his 
parents,  matters  were  brought  to  a  crisis  by  a  circum- 
stance which   deserves   to  be  fully  told,   as  it   is  very 
characteristic  both  of  the  rulers  of  Herrndyk  and  of  the 
young  errand  lad.     One  day  a  gentleman  of  rank  visited 
the  place,  and  wishing  a  guide  to  Ysselstein,  Zeisberger 
was  sent  with  him,  and  so  won  his  good  opinion  that, 
when  parting,  he  offered  the  lad  a  present.     David  had 
been  forbidden  to  accept  presents,  and  therefore  declined 
it.     "You  must  take  it,"  said  the  gentleman.     "  Keep  it 
to  yourself,  it  is  yours  !  "  and  pressing  the  gold  into  the 
boy's  hand,  rode  away.     Zeisberger  was  now  in  great 
perplexity.     "  If  I  conceal  this  occurrence,"  he  said  to 
himself,  "it  will  be  an  act  of  disobedience;  if  I  make 
it   known,   and  deliver  the  fee,   my  story  will   not   be 
credited."     At  last  he  concluded  to  keep  one  half,  and 
to   carry   the   other   to  his   employers.      But  the   very 
suspicion  he  thus  thought  to  avert,  was  aroused.     "  No 
stranger,"  said  the  frowning  brethren,  "ever  gives   so 
large  a  reward  to  an  errand  boy  !    You  have  not  come 


86  DA  VID  ZEISBERGER. 

by  that  money  honestly.  Hold  !  we  will  expose  your 
wickedness  !  "  Two  persons  took  him  back  to  Ysselstein, 
to  find  if  there  was  anything  in  the  story.  But  the 
gentleman  had  left ;  no  one  knew  where  he  had  gone  ; 
and  Zeisberger  returned  to  Plerrndyk,  stigmatised  as  a 
liar  and  thief.  And,  though  he  had  bravely  borne  the 
beating  with  rods,  he  was  determined  not  to  brook  this 
treatment.  An  opportunity  ere  long  arose  for  his  acting 
on  this  resolution. 

In  these  days — that  is^  in  1737 — news  did  not  travel 
fast;  but  Zeisberger  somehow  learned  a  fact  that 
suddenly  settled  what  had  become  a  pressing  problem 
with  him.  He  had  only  remained  at  Herrndyk  for  some 
time  past,  because  he  did  not  know  where  to  go,  and 
had  no  means  of  transit.  It  seems  that,  in  spite  of 
what  he  had  undergone,  any  other  place  than  a  Moravian 
colony  never  suggested  itself  to  his  mind ;  and  to  get  to 
his  parents  in  Georgia  he  regarded  as  wholly  hopeless. 
The  fact  he  now  learned  threw  light  on  his  mind,  and 
determined  his  future.  General  Oglethorpe,  who,  as  we 
have  seen,  had  a  few  years  before  carried  his  motley  band 
of  broken-down  debtors  and  other  hopeless  persons  to 
Georgia,  and  had  by  this  time  founded  not  only  Savannah, 
but  several  other  towns,  under  sanction  of  the  Charter  of 
George  II.,  was  then  back  in  England  for  the  second  time, 
arranging  various  matters  respecting  the  new  colony.* 

*  The  General  had  shown  more  than  ordinary  sagacity  in  laying 
Ottt  the  plan.     To  the  fortunate  arrangement  of  wide  streets,  houses 


DA  VID  ZEISBERGER.  87 

Zeisberger,  once  aware  of  this,  lost  no  time,  but  with 
another  lad,  who,  like  himself,  was  discontented,  set  out 
for  England  to  beg  General  Oglethorpe  to  aid  them  in 
getting  a  ship  for  Savannah.  On  hearing  their  story,  the 
General  must  have  been  interested  in  them,  for  he 
procured  them  passages. 

Landing  in  America,  Zeisberger  took  up  his  abode 
with  his  parents.  Many  were  the  privations  which  he 
endured  here,  many  the  adventures  in  which  necessity 
compelled  him  to  share,  for  the  settlers  lived  more  like 
backwoodsmen  than  aught  else ;  but  of  still  more 
importance  was  the  influence  which  Peter  Boehler,  now 
the  pastor,  exercised  over  the  young  Zeisberger,  as  he 
had  done  over  John  Wesley.  For  months  Zeisberger 
was  his  only  companion  in  a  mission  to  the  negroes  in 
Carolina,  and  we  can  well  imagine  how  Boehler  would 
combine  practical  work  with  pious  inspiriting  converse. 
War  caused  the  Moravians  to  break  up  their  settlement 
in  Georgia,  and  a  section,  the  Zeisbergers  in  it,  went  to 
Pennsylvania,  where,  with  Whitefield,  they  engaged  in 
improving  a  tract  in  the  "  Forks  of  the  Delaware." 
Bishop  Nitschmann  shortly  after  returned  from  Europe 
with  a  commission  to  buy  land  in  Pennsylvania,  and  a 
tract  was  selected  some  miles  to  the  south  of  Whitefield's. 
The  name  of  Bethlehem  was  given  to  the  new  settle- 
built  at  a  pretty  large  distance  from  each  other,  with  great  squares 
at  proper  spaces,  the  town  owes  its  beauty  to-day.  See  the  opening 
sketch,  "General  Oglethorpe,"  p.  46. 


88  DA  VID  ZEISBERGER. 

ment,  and  it  has  been  ever  since  the  chief  seat  of  the 
Moravians  in  America.  Chosen  to  accompany  Count 
Zinzendorf  to  Europe,  young  Zeisberger  was  full  of 
regrets,  because  the  idea  of  becoming  a  missionary  to 
the  Indians  had  already  risen  in  his  mind.  Just  as  the 
vessel  was  about  to  sail,  the  Count  noticed  his  dejection 
and  questioned  him,  and  finding  the  young  man's  heart 
set  on  so  noble  an  object,  he  was  sent  ashore,  and  im- 
mediately made  known  his  determination.  From  hence- 
forth he  was  as  truly  the  Apostle  of  the  Indians  of  the 
West,  as  John  EUot  had  been  of  those  of  New  England. 

The  Indian  till  recently  had  maintained  much  of  his 
original  simplicity.  He  was  a  hunter,  a  warrior,  full  of 
superstitions,  and  often  given  to  cruelty,  yet  with  a  cer- 
tain frankness  and  love  of  truth,  which,  it  is  mournful 
to  think,  were  soon  so  largely  lost  by  contact  with  the 
white  man.  France  already  claimed  to  have  control 
over  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  three  nations,  com- 
prising sixteen  thousand  four  hundred  and  three  warriors, 
and  eighty-two  thousand  souls,  and  this  claim  and  the 
effort  to  extend  her  influence  led  to  difficulties  ere  long. 
The  steady  advances  of  the  **  pale  faces  "  had  caused  the 
Indians  to  retreat  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  recesses 
of  the  western  wilderness. 

"  Around  the  western  head  of  Lake  Erie,  in  Canada, 
and  Ohio,  lived  a  remnant  of  the  Hurons,  or  Wyandots  ; 
about  Saginaw  Bay  the  Ojibways  had  their  wigwams  ; 
the  waters  of  Lake  Michisran  reflected  the  council  fires 


DA  VI D  ZEISBERGER.  89 

of  the  Ottawas  and  Potawatomies  on  the  east,  and  of  the 
Menomonies,  Winnebagoes,  and  Kickapoos  on  the  west ; 
the  Chippeways — a  powerful  nation,  mustering  many 
braves — were  scattered  in  Canada,  along  Lake  Huron, 
and  south  of  Lake  Superior  j  the  towns  of  the  Sacs, 
Foxes,  and  Ottigamies  lay  between  Lake  Michigan  and 
the  Mississippi,  and  farther  down  the  river  were  domiciled 
the  Illinois." 

Rome  had  sent  missionaries  amongst  them,  who  had 
worked  with  but  little  result.  Eliot  and  Rauch  had 
been  more  successful;  but  they  had  only  touched  the 
outer  fringe.  Zinzendorf  had  made  journeys  into  native 
territory,  and  lodging  in  a  bark  hut  at  Shekomeko,  had 
baptized  ten  persons — Mohicans  or  Wampanoags — and 
had  thus  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  first  native  IMoravian 
Church.  Very  soon  the  membership  increased ;  and 
when  Zeisberger,  who  had  described  himself  as  '*  destined 
to  be  a  messenger  to  the  heathen,"  arrived  there  on  his 
way  to  the  Mohawk  valley  to  perfect  himself  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  Mohawk  tongue,  the  Church  had  in- 
creased to  some  sixty-five  souls,  to  whom  he  preached. 
Passing  onwards,  the  suspicions  of  the  garrison  at 
Williams  Fort  were  aroused,  and  the  party  were  detained 
and  questioned,  but  finally  allowed  to  proceed.  At 
Canajoharie  they  were  well  received  by  the  chief  of  the 
Mohawks,  but  had  only  enjoyed  his  aid  and  instruction 
a  few  days,  when  constables  arrived  bearing  the  warrant 
of  the  mayor  of  Albany  to  apprehend  them.     They  were 


90  DA  VID  ZEISBERGER, 

brought  back,  examined  before  the  magistrates,  and 
remanded  to  jail,  where  Zeisberger  devoted  the  time 
to  the  study  of  Mohawk.  "We  count  it  a  great 
honour,"  he  writes,  "to  suffer  for  the  Saviour's  sake, 
though  the  world  cannot  understand  this."  At  length, 
on  the  arrival  of  papers,  they  were  released ;  and  a  pro- 
ject having  been  set  on  foot  to  transfer  the  mission  at 
Shekomeko  to  the  valley  of  Wyoming,  Zeisberger  was 
appointed  assistant  to  Bishop  Spangenberg,  on  a  visit  to 
Onondaga  to  negotiate  with  the  Iroquois  or  Six  Nations 
to  whom  the  territory  belonged.  This  embassy  was 
successful ;  the  Sachems  said  they  were  glad  to  renew 
their  compact  with  Count  Zinzendorf  and  the  Brethren, 
and  they  gave  their  consent.  Returning  by  a  new  route, 
the  missionaries  encountered  several  dangers,  which  gave 
Zeisberger  experience  in  travel,  as  his  contact  with  the 
Indians  added  to  his  knowledge  of  their  manners.  But 
to  their  surprise  the  Indians  of  Shekomeko  refused  to 
move  to  Wyoming.  They  were  as  loath  to  leave  their 
pleasant  homes  at  the  foot  of  the  Stissing,  as  they  were 
afraid  of  the  savages  of  the  Susquehanna.  The  animo- 
sity of  the  settlers  so  increased,  however,  that  a  removal 
was  made  inevitable,  and  a  tract  of  land  on  the  Mahony 
Creek  was  selected  as  a  permanent  settlement.  The 
charge  of  the  mission  of  which  this  was  to  be  the  centre, 
was  given  to  Mack,  and  he,  with  Zeisberger  and  some 
others,  proceeded  there  to  lay  out  a  town,  which  became 
the  historical  Gnadenhiitten,  or  "tents  of  grace." 


DAVID  ZEISBERGER.  91 

This  accomplished,  the  board  devoted  its  attention  to 
the  founding  of  a  mission  at  Shamokin,  which,  with  its 
smithery,  had  become  a  kind  of  centre  for  the  Indians 
since  they  had  begun  to  adopt  firearms.  Zeisberger's 
fluency  in  the  Mohawk  language  led  him  to  be  appointed 
assistant  there.  With  others  he  made  explorations  in  the 
branches  of  the  Susquehanna,  and  found  the  natives  being 
decimated  by  smallpox  and  by  famine — their  sorrow 
only  deepened  by  their  helplessness  to  render  effectual 
succour.  After  spending  a  couple  of  months  at  Bethle- 
hem, Zeisberger  once  more  devoted  himself  to  labour  at 
Shamokin,  but  drunken  revelries  and  bloody  brawls  were 
so  frequent  that  he  was  much  discouraged,  and  on  the 
meeting  of  the  board  it  was  arranged  that  he  should  go 
as  interpreter  to  a  Council  of  the  Six  Nations  at  Onon- 
daga, to  arrange  for  sending  a  mission  into  the  country. 

While  the  Sachems — hindered  by  the  intoxication  of 
some  of  their  brethren — were  deliberating,  the  mission- 
aries resolved  to  visit  the  Senecas,  and  taking  a  trail  west 
by  north,  they  entered  a  fearful  wilderness  full  of  swamps. 
Here  Bishop  Cammerhoff  fell  ill  of  fever,  and  while  Zeis- 
berger ministered  to  him  in  a  village,  he  was  summoned 
to  a  conference  of  the  Indians,  who,  he  found,  were 
drunk  here  also.  When  he  left  them,  they  followed  him, 
and  came  trooping,  yelling,  and  dancing  round  the  hut 
where  the  sick  man  lay.  It  needs  not  to  be  said  that 
Zeisberger,  at  risk  even  of  bodily  injury  or  of  death, 
boldly  urged  them  to  give  up  strong  drink — but  with 


92  DAVID  ZEISBERGER. 

small  result ;  and  as  soon  as  Bishop  Cammerhoff  was 
able  to  crawl,  they  anew  set  forth  for  the  capital  of  the 
Senecas.  Drunken  revelry  reigned  here  also  ;  Cammer- 
hofif's  fever  increased,  and  the  prospect  was,  indeed, 
terrible.  They  were  assailed  not  only  by  men,  but  by 
women,  drunk  and  infuriated.  As  no  good  could  be 
done,  they  escaped,  secretly  creeping  forth  from  the 
village  during  a  heavy  fog,  though  Cammerhoff  was 
hardly  able  to  walk.  The  story  of  their  return  is  a 
series  of  remarkable  escapes,  as  thrilling  as  any  ever 
chronicled. 

"Without  provisions  and  unable  to  find  any  game, 
for  it  seemed  to  have  disappeared  from  these  hunting- 
grounds,  they  suffered  greatly  from  hunger.  In  attempt- 
ing to  wade  across  the  outlet  of  Lake  Seneca,  they 
missed  the  ford  and  were  carried  into  deep  water, 
struggling  for  their  lives.  After  superhuman  exertions, 
Zeisberger  gained  the  shore ;  Cammerhoff,  whose 
strength  the  fever  had  greatly  reduced,  sank,  and  re- 
mained so  long  immersed  that  his  companion  gave  him 
up  as  lost.  At  last  he  rose,  and  almost  by  a  miracle, 
himself  could  not  tell  how,  he  reached  the  land.  Barely 
sustaining  life  on  a  pheasant  which  Zeisberger  shot,  they 
proceeded  to  Onondaga." 

Arrived  there,  the  news  was  not  encouraging — various 
difficulties  were  raised;  but,  finally,  the  Six  Nations 
agreed  to  let  any  two  of  their  Church  come  among  them 
and  learn  their  languages.     This  settled,  through  many 


DAVID  ZEI.'-BERGER. 


93 


difficulties,  they  made  their  way  back  to  Bethlehem, 
having  travelled  more  than  sixteen  hundred  miles  on 
horseback,  on  foot,  and  in  their  canoes. 

Notwithstanding  the  frightful  ravages  drink  had  made 
among   the   Indians,    the   settlement   at   Gnadenhiitten 
began  to  have  its  own  effect.     A  spirit  of  inquiry  had 
sprung  up  among  the  Delawares  and  other  tribes  along 
the  Susquehanna ;  many  visitors  had  come  to  hear  the 
Word  of  God,  and  heathen  Indians  had  even  assembled 
voluntarily  to  talk  of  Christ.     Zeisberger's  one  wish  was 
to  take  advantage  of  this  condition  of  affairs,  and  to 
follow  up  the  news  these  visitors  carried  to  their  own 
tribes,  by  penetrating  still  farther  into  the  wilderness. 
But  various  complications  led  to  his  being  sent  at  this 
stage  to  Europe,  where  he  remained  for  some  time.     On 
his  return  he  found  that  Cammerhoff  was  dead,  never 
having  recovered  from  the  fever  of  the  swamp.     Without 
loss   of  time  he  set  off  for  Shamokin,   preaching   the 
Gospel  wherever  opportunity  offered,  as  he  went  thither. 
At  Shamokin  he  laboured  for  a  while,  but  his  heart  was 
with  the  Six  Nations,  and  as  soon  as  possible  he  arranged 
to  go  back  to  Onondaga — this  time   not  to  study  lan- 
guages chiefly,  but  to  teach  and  preach.     He  soon  con- 
ciliated the  Sachems,  and  so  thoroughly  secured  their 
goodwill  in  his  work,  that  great  progress  was  made.    His 
biographer  may  well  say — 

"Considering  the  inordinate  pride  of  the  chiefs  of 
the   Six   Nations,   and    the    suspicion    with    which    the 


94  I^A  VJD  ZEISBERGER. 

aborigines  regarded  every  attempt  of  the  white  men  to 
gain  a  foothold  in  their  country,  the  results  of  the  council's 
deliberations  were  remarkable,  and  proved  the  high 
esteem  in  which  the  Church  of  the  Brethren  was  held  at 
Onondaga,  and  the  personal  influence  which  Zeisberger 
had  acquired  among  the  same  tribes,  whose  favour  the 
Colonial  Government  purchased  with  much  difficulty 
and  by  constant  presents  of  great  value." 

Here  Zeisberger  had  full  opportunity  for  studying  the 
ways  of  the  Indians,  and,  as  one  wise  for  God,  he  made 
good  use  of  his  time.  He  gained  more  and  more 
influence  over  the  Sachems,  and  through  their  help  was 
able  to  finish  his  Iroquois  dictionary.  He  was  even 
adopted  into  the  nations,  receiving  the  name  of  Thanera- 
quechta.  He  made  various  journeys  into  the  territory 
of  other  Indians,  in  one  of  which  he  was  severely 
wounded ;  the  Indians  having  been  encouraged  in  their 
onset  by  a  Dutchman,  who  fancied  the  missionaries  were 
rival  traders, — so  that  we  see  similar  difficulties  to  those 
of  our  times  were  sometimes  met  with  then.  After  a 
short  stay  at  Bethlehem,  made  necessary  in  various  ways, 
Zeisberger  returned  to  Onondaga,  where  a  famine  before 
long  broke  out.  The  missionaries  took  a  large  share  in 
bringing  supplies  from  a  distance,  and  when,  owing  to 
bad  food  and  neglect,  various  diseases  spread,  their 
knowledge  of  simples  stood  them  in  good  stead,  in  spite 
of  the  tricks  of  the  native  doctors.  After  a  short  absence 
at  Bethlehem  to    attend    a    great   congress,    Zeisberger 


DA  VID  ZEISBERGER.  95 

returned,  and,  with  the  cordial  help  of  the-  Indians, 
succeeded  in  erecting  a  large  loghouse  for  the  mission. 
Meanwhile  the  war  with  the  English  broke  out,  and  the 
Moravians  were  accused  of  secret  understandings  with 
the  French.  This  idea  was  made  use  of,  and  fomented 
by  agents,  till  some  Indians  were  led  to  make  an  attack 
on  the  premises  at  Gnadenhiitten,  while  Zeisberger,  who 
would  most  probably  have  been  killed  had  he  been 
found,  was  providentially  absent.  He  at  once  made  his 
way  to  Bethlehem,  reporting  this  attack,  in  which  the 
buildings  were  burned,  ten  persons  killed,  and  one 
woman  carried  away  captive. 

This  was  but  the  prelude  to  a  new  series  of  horrors ; 
the  fatal  Indian  wars  followed.  During  a  lengthened 
period  no  missionary  work  could  be  done,  but  Zeisberger 
devoted  himself  to  study,  going  here  and  there  to  stir  up 
an  interest  in  the  Indians. 

After  these  wars  came  the  dawn  of  a  new  epoch  to 
America  and  the  world.  England  had  been  victorious, 
and  America  was  hers,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the 
ice-fields  of  the  Arctic  lands.  But  the  wars  had  in  effect 
swept  away  most  of  the  stations  that  had  been  founded 
at  cost  of  so  much  labour  and  anxiety.  Zeisberger  was 
now  despatched  on  another  journey  to  the  Indian 
country  as  envoy  to  Sir  William  Johnson  and  Governor 
Hamilton.  It  was  winter,  and  the  snow  lay  on  the 
ground.  He  preached  to  several  settlements  of  Dela- 
wares  with  decided  effect,  for  he  did  not  cease  to  be  a 


96  DA  VW  ZEI  BERGER. 

mission^y  when  he  became  an  envoy,  and  his  heart  was 
strangely  stirred  within  him  at  once  more  seeing  the 
Indians.  Before  returning  home  he  visited  two  of  the 
stations — Nain  and  Wechquetank,  and  from  there  passed 
over  the  Broad  Mountains  to  Wyoming,  and  from  that  to 
Machiwihlusing,  where  we  note  that  he  preached  with 
more  than  his  usual  fervour;  and  that  whilst  so  engaged, 
one  John  Woolman,  a  Quaker  evangelist,  arrived.  A 
council  was  called  to  receive  this  Quaker  missionary, 
whose  name  will  not  soon  die.  He  spoke  to  the  people 
at  first  by  the  mouth  of  an  interpreter,  but  afterwards 
feeling  his  mind  covered  with  the  spirit  of  prayer,  he 
expressed  a  wish  that  the  interpreting  should  be  omitted. 
Divine  love  was  shed  over  the  meeting  ;  and  when  he 
left  he  prayed  that  the  great  work  which  Zeisberger  had 
undertaken  might  be  crowned  with  success. 

The  meeting  of  these  two  men,  and  the  spirit  in  which 
they  regarded  each  other's  work,  their  tolerance  and 
goodwill  and  true  Christian  fellowship,  are  such  that  we 
may  well  pause  over  it,  in  view  of  many  of  the  divisions 
and  jealousies  of  our  day. 

Before  Zeisberger  left,  the  whole  town  gathered  to 
a  solemn  assembly,  when  one  Papunhank,  "the  first 
prophet  Zeisberger  had  brought  into  the  Church,"  and 
another  were  baptized.  But  even  while  these  things 
were  being  done,  what  was  called  the  Pontiac  Con- 
spiracy broke  out  with  its  bloodshed  and  woe,  and  led 
Zeisberger  to  be  recalled,  as  already  Pon;iac's  spies  were 


DA  VI D  ZEISBERGER.  97 

visiting  the  town.  He  was  soon  once  more  in  Bethlehem. 
The  war  spread,  and  tribe  after  tribe  were  involved  in 
it ;  so  that,  though  he  as  soon  as  possible  left  Bethlehem, 
and  took  up  his  abode  at  Christiansbrunn,  little  mis- 
sionary work  could  be  done.  The  settlers  "breathed 
vengeance  against  the  '  Moravian  Indians,'  as  the 
converts  were  called,  and  blamed  them  for  being  in 
league  with  the  savages."  These  converts  had  to  claim 
the  protection  of  the  governor,  which  he  promised ;  and 
for  some  weeks  after  he  had  issued  articles  to  that  effect, 
they  were  undisturbed  ;  but  a  band  of  Christian  Indians 
— men,  women,  and  children — were  at  last  cruelly  set 
upon  and  murdered,  which  was  the  signal  for  new 
attacks  and  outrages  of  all  kinds.  Terror  and  surprise 
were  the  rule ;  there  were  mobs  in  the  towns — the  panic 
spread,  and  there  seemed  no  way  to  end  the  frightful 
distress  and  bloodshed.  Zeisberger  betook  himself  to 
Province  Island,  where  he  acted  as  minister  and  super- 
intendent, going  between  it  and  Bethlehem,  and  doing 
all  he  could  for  the  Indians  who,  escaping  after  him, 
sought  his  succour.  The  Assembly  voted  one  thousand 
pounds  to  protect  the  Indians,  and  it  was  determined  to 
devote  this  sum  to  sending  them  under  escort  to  Phi- 
ladelphia. But  unforeseen  difficulties  arose  from  the 
authorities  of  the  provinces,  through  which  they  must 
pass,  refusing  to  receive  or  to  recognise  them.  "  This 
unprecedented  pilgrimage  of  nearly  three  weeks,  under- 
taken by  the  Indian  Mission  and  its  teachers,  through 


98  DAVID  ZETSBERGER. 

one  of  the  most  thickly  populated  parts  of  the  country, 
seems  to  have  been  permitted  by  God,  in  order  to 
establish  the  glory  of  His  Gospel  The  bearing  of 
the  converts  was  so  extraordinary,  so  humble,  and  yet 
manly,  so  clearly  the  result  of  the  Christian  faith  which 
they  professed,  that  the  reviler  forgot  his  revilements, 
and  the  scoffer  looked  on  amazed.  Even  their  escort  of 
soldiers,  among  whom  were  such  as  had  been  at  Detroit 
during  the  siege,  and  hated  Indians  with  all  the  bitter- 
ness of  their  past  experience,  began  to  show  them 
respect." 

Their  return  was  simply  the  signal  for  fresh  outbreaks. 
Riot  followed  riot — Pontiac's  cruel  warriors  were  still 
identified  with  patient  Christian  men  and  women,  who 
had  given  such  testimony  of  incapacity  for  the  brutal 
deeds  of  Pontiac's  followers  :  and  the  settlers  refused  to 
be  convinced.  The  war  went  on  for  a  while  longer; 
but  expectations  of  French  aid  were  not  realised,  and 
without  that,  the  inducements  to  carry  it  on  were  greatly 
weakened.  In  March  1765,  Governor  Penn  proclaimed 
that  the  way  to  their  own  country  was  now  open  to  the 
Christian  Indians.  They  accordingly  set  forth,  after 
having  passed  sixteen  months  in  Philadelphia,  and  after 
having  borne  nearly  one-half  their  number  to  Potter's 
Field.  Zeisberger  here  as  always  showed  all  that  zeal 
and  prudence  which,  brightened  by  Christian  self-denial, 
illumined  his  life.  His  one  aim  now  was  to  keep  the 
Christians  together,  so  that  they  might  not  be  exposed 


DA  VJD  ZEISBERGER.  99 

to   the  special    perils   likely  to    beset  those  who   were 
but  recently  heathens  in  habit  and  belief,  suddenly  set 
free  to  find  homes  where  they  would.     It  was  therefore 
resolved  to  found  a   mission   settlement   at    Machiwih- 
lusing,  near  to  which  lay  extensive  hunting-grounds,  with 
several  tracts  already  cleared.     The  converts  themselves 
had  suggested  the   choice   of  this    site ;  and,   to  their 
inexpressible   joy,    Zeisberger    was    appointed   resident 
missionary,  with  Schmick  for  his  assistant.     Now  began 
his   true   work,    for    which    he    had    undergone    such 
thorough  preparation.     After   many   difficulties    in   the 
journey,  through  thick  woods  and  swamps,  where  no 
greater   rate   of  progress    than    five   miles    a   day   was 
possible — their  journey  from  Nain  having  occupied  five 
weeks — they  at  length  reached  their  destination.     With- 
out loss  of  time,  Zeisberger,  Schmick,  and  Papunhank, 
of  whom  we  have  already  heard,  proceeded  to  lay  out  a 
town.      The    permission    of    the    Iroquois   Sachem   at 
Cayugu  Town  had  been  accorded,   and  though   some 
difficulties  arose  by  and  by,  these  were  soon  overcome  by 
Zeisberger's  signal  tact. 

"  The  new  town  which  came  into  existence  rang  with 
the  melody  of  praise  even  while  it  was  being  built.  In 
every  place  the  feelings  of  the  people  burst  into  song. 
And  when  they  went  out  to  the  chase,  or  fished  in  the 
rivers,  when  they  roamed  through  the  woods  gathering 
roots  or  herbs,  the  game  that  they  found,  the  fishes  that 
they  caught,  and  everything  that  grew  upon  the  ground, 


ICO  DAVID  ZEISBERGER. 

seemed  given  to  them  by  a  special  act  of  Providence. 
'  Behold,'  says  Zeisberger,  as  he  saw  this  general  happi- 
ness, and  heard  some  of  his  own  Delaware  hymns  echoing 
through  the  forest,  '  this  is  making  good  use  of  their 
liberty!  Beginning  their  work  in  this  way,  God  will 
richly  bless  them.  Under  such  circumstances  it  is  joy 
to  be  among  the  Indians.'" 

In  spite  of  illness  and  weakness,  brought  on  by  anxiety 
and  the  great  efforts  he  had  made,  Zeisberger  no  sooner 
saw  the  loghouses  built,  than  he  began  to  devote  himself 
to  the  Indians  that  visited  the  settlement,  or  to  those 
whose  grounds  lay  near  it.  "  It  often  happens,  while  I 
preach,"  he  says,  "  that  the  power  of  the  Gospel  takes 
such  hold  of  them  that  they  tremble  with  emotion  and 
shake  with  fear,  until  consciousness  is  nearly  gone,  and 
they  seem  to  be  on  the  point  of  fainting.  As  soon  as 
such  a  paroxysm  is  over,  they  generally  begin  to  weep 
silent  tears.  We  have  many  candidates  for  baptism." 
A  code  of  municipal  laws  was  drawn  up,  which  forbade 
heathen  Indians  who  came  merely  for  the  sake  of 
outward  advantage,  to  build  lodges  in  the  town,  or 
traders  to  stay  longer  than  three  days.  The  appropriate 
name  of  Friedenshiitten,  or  Tents  of  Peace,  was  given 
to  the  new  settlement.  Friedenshiitten  very  soon  excited 
the  admiration  of  every  visitor.  It  embraced  twenty- 
nine  loghouses,  with  windows  and  chimneys  like  the 
homesteads  of  the  settlers,  and  thirteen  huts,  forming 
one  street,  in  the  centre  of  which  stood    the   chapel. 


DA  VID  ZEISBERGER.  loi 

thirty-two  by  twenty-four  feet,  roofed  with  shingles,  and 
having  a  school-house  as  its  wing.  Opposite,  on  the  left 
side  of  the  street,  was  the  mission-house.  The  converts 
had  large  herds  of  cattle,  and  hogs  and  poultry  of  every 
kind.  They  devoted  more  time  to  tilling  the  ground 
than  to  hunting,  and  raised  plentiful  crops.  They  did 
a  considerable  trade  with  the  heathen  Indians  in  corn, 
•maple- sugar,  butter,  pork,  &c. 

A  report  having  reached  the  settlement  that  the 
Iroquois  Council  had  declared  the  grant  of  the  site  made 
by  the  chief  Togahaju  null  and  void,  Zeisberger  was 
despatched  to  represent  the  matter  to  them.  He  was 
received  with  great  honour,  assured  that  the  report  was 
utterly  false,  and  invited  to  visit  them  at  Onondaga 
again.  His  work  done,  he  then  went  to  Bethlehem, 
having  concluded  that  as  Schmick  could  now  manage 
the  settlement  at  Machiwihlusing,  he  was  free  to  prepare 
for  another  exploratory  tour  on  which  his  heart  had  long 
been  set.  Anthony,  a  recent  convert,  and  Papunhank, 
consented  to  accompany  him.  Crossing  the  Susquc 
hanna,  they  proceeded  up  the  Chemung  to  its  confluence 
with  the  Tioga,  when  they  followed  it  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Cowanesque  Creek.  Up  this  they  proceeded  a  day's 
journey,  and  then  entered  a  dense  swamp.  They  forced 
their  way  through  the  underwood  to  the  head  waters  of 
the  Alleghany,  through  well-nigh  impenetrable  spruce 
forests,  into  regions  till  then  untrod  by  white  men,  and 
even  now  largely  waste.     The  Senecas  here  were  at  first 


102  DAVID  ZEISBERGER. 

inclined  to  treat  the  "pale  faces"  with  suspicion,  but 
whenever  Zeisberger  said,  "  I  am  Ganousseracheri,"  their 
whole  demeanour  changed;  showing  how  widely  the 
news  of  his  goodness  had  already  travelled.  When  he 
told  the  Seneca  chief  that  he  meant  to- make  his  way  to 
the  Indians  at  Goschgoschuuk,  the  old  man  gravely 
shook  his  head  and  said,  "  They  bear  a  bad  character, 
they  are  sorcerers,  and  will  not  hesitate  to  murder  you. 
Go  not  thither."  But  to  this  Zeisberger  replied,  "No 
harm  can  befall  me  if  my  God,  in  whom  I  believe,  does 
not  permit  it.  The  wickedness  of  the  Indians  there  is 
just  the  reason  why  I  ought  to  go  and  preach  to  them." 
And  with  the  chiefs  serious  warnings  in  their  ears  they 
pressed  forward. 

It  is  one  of  the  greatest  tributes  to  Zeisberger's 
influence,  that  already  the  news  of  his  work  and  his  love 
of  the  Indians  had  been  carried  far  and  wide.  In  the 
most  remote  villages  his  name  was  known.  In  the  next 
Seneca  town  to  which  they  came  they  found  two  old 
acquaintances,  Onondagas,  who  welcomed  them  there, 
and  they  preached  to  the  people  with  great  acceptance. 
Even  at  Goschgoschuuk,  which  they  reached  in  the 
month  of  October,  they  found  friends  of  Papunhank, 
who  were  ready  to  entertain  them.  At  the  earliest 
moment  Zeisberger  appointed  a  religious  service,  when 
he  spoke  with  great  eloquence  and  earnestness,  telling 
them  that  he  brought  to  them  the  same  Gospel  as  their 
friends  at   Friedenshiitten  had  received,  and  had  been 


DA  VID  ZEISBERGER.  103 

made  happy  by  receiving.  We  are  told  that  his  hearers 
— men  who  were,  above  all  the  Indians,  superstitious, 
wicked,  and  bloodthirsty — were  spell-bound.  "Never 
yet,"  he  himself  writes,  "did  I  see  so  clearly  depicted 
on  the  faces  of  Indians  both  the  darkness  of  hell  and  the 
world-subduing  power  of  the  Gospel."  Next  day  all  the 
three  villages  were  represented,  and  a  yet  more  powerful 
effect  produced.  In  spite  of  the  efforts  of  some,  Zeis- 
berger  was  warmly  invited  to  establish  a  mission  settle- 
ment there.  Nothing  had  as  yet  produced  a  deeper 
impression  on  the  board  than  his  success  in  this  enter- 
prise. It  was  necessary  for  him  to  return  to  Bethlehem 
to  report  and  make  arrangements  with  the  board,  who 
deemed  it  expedient  that  he  should  spend  the  winter  at 
Christiansbrunn.  But  to  show  that  the  impression  had 
not  vanished  from  the  minds  of  the  people  of  Gosch- 
goschuuk,  in  April  runners  reached  Friedenshutten  to 
inquire  if  the  teachers  that  had  been  promised  were 
coming.  A  few  days  later  Zeisberger  arrived  at 
Friedenshutten,  and,  naturally,  on  account  of  this 
message,  he  hurried  on  the  more  quickly  to  his 
destination. 

In  spite  of  some  marked  changes  for  the  worse  durmg 
his  absence,  Zeisberger  set  himself  resolutely  to  work, 
raised  a  log-building,  twenty-six  by  sixteen  feet,  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  town,  round  which  the  converts 
were  to  rear  their  cottages.  But  they  were  not  allowed 
to  proceed  long  without  difficulties  of  a  special  kind. 


104  ^^  VID  ZEISBERGER. 

All  the  Indians,  as  we  have  said,  were  much  given  to 
sorcery;  but  the  Seneca  chief  was  right  in  saj'ing  that 
the  Indians  of  Goschgoschuuk  surpassed  all  the  rest. 
Zeisberger,  who  was  not  "  inclined  to  start  at  shadows," 
was  compelled  to  allow  the  depth  of  their  degradation 
and  superstition.  "  Some  existed,"  he  said,  "  by  whom 
Satan  himself  worked,  with  all  powers  and  signs  and 
lying  wonders."  He  said  that  he  disbelieved  the  stories 
he  heard  of  what  they  could  do  until  several  of  them 
were  converted.  These  unfolded  to  him  things  from 
their  own  past  experience,  which  forced  him  to  acknow- 
ledge the  reality  of  Indian  sorcery,  and  to  adopt  the 
opinion,  which  was  universal  among  the  early  Church 
Fathers,  that  the  gods  of  heathenism  were  not  visionary 
beings  represented  by  idols,  but  satanic  powers  and 
principahties,  to  worship  whom  was  to  worship  demons 
and  be  under  demoniacal  influences." 

The  sorcerers  of  Goschgoschuuk,  like  the  image- 
makers  of  Ephesus,  felt  that  if  Zeisberger  thus  went 
on  gaining  influence  with  the  people,  their  source  of 
wealth  and  power  would  be  gone.  They  therefore 
declared  that  worms  would  destroy  the  crops  because 
there  were  white  teachers  in  the  town,  and  sent  abroad 
many  similar  rumours.  Other  tribes  rose  up,  threatening 
also.  The  meetings  were  disturbed ;  Zeisberger  was 
threatened  and  watched  by  bands  of  young  people, 
resolved  to  injure  or  to  murder  him.  Nevertheless,  he 
and  his  friends  went  on  preaching,  and  he  even  managed 


DA  VID  ZEISBERGER.  105 

to  get  the  people  to  agree  to  prohibit  the  bringing  of 
*'  fire-water  "  to  Goschgoschuuk. 

"  Nor  was  it  less  an  evidence  of  Christian  power  in  so 
notorious  a  nest  of  murderers  that,  after  the  second 
attempt  had  been  made  on  Zeisberger's  life,  those  Mon- 
seys  who  attended  his  preaching  held  a  council,  and 
appointed  two  of  their  number  to  administer  a  public 
reproof  to  the  young  men  engaged  in  the  plot.  That 
God's  word  was  not  proclaimed  in  vain  its  most  vindic- 
tive opponents  had  to  acknowledge.  Goschgoschuuk 
separated  into  a  Christian  and  heathen  party.  At  first 
the  former  timidly  succumbed  to  every  persecution. 
By  and  by,  however,  it  gained  courage,  and  stood  forth 
openly  on  the  side  of  the  Gospel,  whilst  several  of  its 
adherents  built  themselves  huts  around  the  mission- 
house.  The  accession  of  Allessrewi  and  of  Gendaskund, 
a  distinguished  head-man,  was  the  crowning  triumph  of 
this  party." 

More  and  more  the  Christian  party  separated  them- 
selves from  the  heathen ;  and  when  the  hunters  of  the 
clan  returned  from  their  autumnal  chase,  they  nearly  all 
joined  the  mission,  and  the  wrath  of  the  heathen  was 
thus  excited  anew.  Feasts  and  all  kinds  of  attractions 
were  set  on  footJjy  them  to  wile  the  converts  away,  but 
without  effect.  The  persecution  at  length  grew  so  bitter 
that  Zeisberger  determined  to  remove  the  mission 
premises  to  Lawunakhanck,  some  three  miles  farther 
up  the  river,  not  far  from  a  petroleum  spring,  which  was 


lo6  DA  VW  ZEISBERGER. 

found  to  be  of  great  value.  The  Christians  removed^ 
the  heathens  at  Goschgoschuuk  lapsed  deeper  into 
drunkenness  and  all  kinds  of  wickedness ;  but  Zeis- 
berger  did  not  despair  of  converting  some,  and  lost  no 
chance  of  appealing  to  them,  being  energetically  aided 
in  these  efforts  by  Anthony,  of  whom  Zeisberger  at  this 
time  wrote,  "  Anthony  is  as  eager  to  bring  souls  to  Christ 
as  a  hunter's  hound  is  eager  to  chase  the  deer."  The 
friendship  of  a  chief,  Glikkikan,  who  had  great  influence 
at  Goschgoschuuk,  proved  of  signal  service  now  ;  and  in 
union  with  other  two  chiefs,  Zeisberger  was  invited  to 
found  a  mission  at  Kaskaskunk,  on  the  Beaver  River 
in  Ohio,  whither  he  went.  There  he  founded  a  town 
Friedenstadt,  or  City  of  Peace,  which  soon  became  a 
centre  of  great  changes.  Chiefs  who  had  lived  in  life- 
long feud  became  reconciled,  "  one  haughty  war-captain 
weeping  publicly  at  thought  of  his  past  deeds  in  the 
presence  of  his  former  associates."  Zeisberger  writes, 
"This  is  marvellous  !  Thus  the  Saviour,  by  His  word, 
breaks  the  hard  hearts  and  humbles  the  proud  minds  of 
the  Indians."  One  of  the  greatest  achievements  of  the 
missionaries  at  this  settlement  was  the  appointment  of 
an  umpire  to  settle  all  differences  between  the  Christian 
Monseys  and  the  rest,  Zeisberger  being  at  the  same 
time  enrolled  as  a  Monsey.  The  Church  increased  day 
by  day  ;  but  in  the  midst  of  his  success  he  was  sum 
moned  to  Friedcnshiitten,  where  difficulties  had  arisen. 
It  had  been  found  that  the  land  granted  by  the  Iroquois 


DA  VID  ZEISBERGER.  107 

Council  to  the  Susquehanna  converts  formed  part  of 
the  tract  sold  to  Pennyslvania  at  the  treaty  of  Fort 
Stanwix,  and  Zeisberger,  after  much  consideration,  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  proximity  of  settlers  would  be 
detrimental,  and  suggested  to  the  board  that  the  unre- 
claimed wilderness  of  Ohio  would  form  the  best  field  for 
the  future  operations  of  the  Church,  and  advised  the 
removal  of  the  whole  body  of  converts  to  that  country. 
Very  shortly  he  was  on  his  way  with  the  first  detach- 
ment, five  families,  numbering  twenty-eight  persons. 
Having  committed  the  mission  on  the  Beaver  to  the 
charge  of  Jungman,  he  now  went  on  hopefully  with  the 
building  of  the  first  Christian  town  in  Ohio.  The  dis- 
trict chosen  was  fair  and  fruitful ;  the  chief  had  made  a 
grant  near  the  "  Big  Spring "  of  all  the  land  from  the 
Gekelemukpechunk  northward  to  Tuscarawas;  and  in 
an  incredible  short  time  things  were  in  such  order  that 
Zeisberger,  in  spite  of  the  return  of  ill-health,  felt  himself 
free  to  resume  his  explorations,  in  which  he  took  much 
delight.  He  visited  the  Shawanese  of  the  Muskingum, 
and  was  well  received,  though  they  were  one  of  the 
most  superstitious  and  perfidious  tribes.  The  religious 
interest  spread  even  to  the  Delaware  capital.  Eckpala- 
wehund,  a  noted  chief,  became  a  convert,  and  exercised 
a  wise  and  beneficial  influence  over  his  people.  Zeis- 
berger at  this  time  made  sundry  translations  of  passages 
of  Scripture,  and  of  a  liturgical  service.  Shortly  after 
be  accompanied  one  of  the  chiefs  to  New  Orleans.     In 


■N. 


108  DA  VID  ZEISBERGER. 

spite  of  the  outbreak  of  Dunmore's  war — a  mere  pretext 
for  extension  of  territory,  which  did  great  mischief — and 
the  self-interest  of  the  chiefs  who  had  favoured  the  settle- 
ment in  the  Tuscarawas,  in  the  hope  of  adding  to  their 
influence,  and  having  learned  as  much  as  they  wanted, 
now  wished  to  get  rid   of  the   teachers,    the   missions 
prospered.     The  chiefs  were  caught  in  their  own  toils, 
one  of  their  number,  "  White  Eyes,"  so  far  the  superior 
of  the  others  that  they  could  not  do  without  him,  having 
resolved  to  stand  by  Zeisberger.     This  chief  undertook 
a  circuit  of  visitation  to  his  brother  chiefs,  to  represent 
to  them  the  real  objects  of  the  missionaries,  and  to  beg 
for  a  proper  recognition  of  the  Christian  converts.     He 
even  developed  a  great  scheme  of  union.    So  the  villages 
on   the   Tuscarawas   increased,   and   not   only   so,   but 
exhibited  more  and  more  the  lofty  ideal  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. 

"They  were  remarkable  not  merely  as  towns  built 
with  surprising  regularity  and  neatness,  but  also  as  com- 
munities governed  without  the  aid  of  colonial  magistrates, 
by  a  complete  code  of  laws.  In  order  to  administer 
these,  a  council  was  set  over  each  village,  consisting  of 
the  missionaries  and  national  assistants  or  '  helpers,'  as 
they  were  called.  In  such  a  council,  the  influence  of 
the  white  teachers  properly  and  necessarily  continued 
supreme ;  but  a  native  element  was,  at  the  same  time, 
brought  out  that  reconciled  personal  liberty,  which  the 
Indian  prizes  so  highly,  with  restrictions  tending  to  the 


DAVID  ZEISBERGER.  109 

common  good.  But,  from  one  point  of  view.,  perhaps 
the  most  remarkable  feature  of  these  towns  will  appear 
in  this,  that  they  were  centres  of  agriculture,  and  not 
'a  collection  of  hunting-lodges.  The  chase  was  by  no 
means  abandoned,  but  it  had  become  a  secondary 
object  To  raise  grain,  cattle,  and  poultry  formed  the 
principal  employment  of  the  converts.  Their  plantations 
covered  hundreds  of  acres  along  the  rich  bottoms  of  the 
valley ;  herds,  more  numerous  than  the  West  had  ever 
seen,  roamed  through  the  forests  or  were  pastured  in 
the  meadows ;  while  few  farmyards  in  Pennsylvania 
had  poultry  in  greater  variety.  Men  of  judgment  and 
distinction  coming  from  the  eastern  colonies  were  often 
filled  with  astonishment  when  they  here  beheld  Indians 
not  only  civilised,  but  changed  in  all  their  habits,  and 
growing  rich." 

Though  the  revolution  was  now  drawing  near,  and 
disturbances  were  already  felt  all  over  the  land,  Zeis- 
berger  went  on  with  his  work  unmoved.  His  next 
great  enterprise  was  the  founding  of  a  mission  at  Lich- 
tenau,  on  the  Muskingum.  Papunhank,  who  had 
formerly  assisted  him  well  in  such  work,  had  passed 
away  at  a  ripe  age ;  but  new  helpers  sprang  up,  and 
though  "  White  Eyes "  for  a  time  yielded  himself  to 
ambitious  projects,  he  soon  awakened  to  his  blunder. 
More  distressing  and  injurious  to  the  mission  work 
were  the  efforts  which  the  British  now  made  to  stir 
up  the  Indians — a  policy  so  persistently  pursued  that 


IIO  DAVID  ZEISBERGER. 

by  and  by  the  mission  stations  were  nearly  all  broken 
up.  When  all  the  others,  save  himself  and  Edwards, 
had  been  withdrawn  from  Lichtenau,  Zeisberger  wrote  in 
a  letter  to  the  board — 

"  My  heart  does  not  allow  me  even  so  much  as  to 
think  of  leaving.  Where  the  Christian  Indians  stay,  I 
will  stay.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  forsake  them.  If 
Edwards  and  I  were  to  go,  they  would  be  without  a 
guide  and  would  disperse.  Our  presence  gives  authority 
to  the  national  assistants,  and  the  Lord  gives  authority 
to  us.  He  will  not  look  upon  our  remaining  here  as 
foolhardiness.  I  make  no  pretensions  to  heroism,  but 
am,  by  nature,  as  timid  as  a  dove.  My  trust  is  alto- 
gether in  God.  Never  yet  has  He  put  me  to  shame,  but 
always  granted  me  the  courage  and  the  comfort  I  needed. 
I  am  about  my  duty,  and  even  if  I  should  be  murdered, 
it  will  not  be  my  loss,  but  my  gain ;  for  then  will  the  fish 
return  to  his  native  element." 

They  were  equal  to  the  position.  Zeisberger  went 
from  place  to  place,  counselling  the  Indians  to  be  at 
peace,  to  refrain  from  declaring  war,  and  to  be  guiltless 
of  bloodshed.  As  soon  as  the  position  of  affairs  would 
admit  of  it,  he  set  forth  to  found  three  new  missions, 
as  the  inrush  to  Lichtenau  had  overcrowded  it.  This 
accomplished,  he  went  to  Bethlehem  to  confer  with  the 
board,  and  found  on  his  return  that  both  Goschgoschuuk 
and  Lichtenau  had  been  destroyed  by  Colonel  Broad- 
head's  .'■soldiery.     With  immense  labour  the  settlements 


DA  VI D  ZEISBER  GER.  1 1 1 

were  restored.  But  Zeisberger,  though  now  patriarchal, 
would  not  rest.  He  was  in  danger  of  death  from 
heathen  sorcerers  more  than  once,  was  more  than  once 
taken  prisoner,  and  always  displayed  the  same  high 
heroism.  It  would  be  -mpossible  to  recount  all  his 
brave  deeds — his  wanderings  in  peril  and  solitude,  and 
his  constant  witness,  borne  amid  all  manner  of  threaten- 
ings  and  privations,  to  the  Gospel  of  his  Saviour.  One 
of  the  most  touching  episodes  of  his  later  days  was 
the  massacre  at  Gnadenhiitten  by  the  heathen  Indians, 
in  which  twenty-nine  men,  twenty-seven  women,  and 
thirty-four  children  were  barbarously  murdered. 

"Their  death  was  the  beginning  of  the  decline  of 
the  mission,  but  it  was  also  the  most  illustrious  exempli- 
fication of  what  the  Church  and  Zeisberger  had  accom- 
plished among  the  aborigines.  Their  very  murderers 
confessed  that  by  their  faith  and  patience,  by  their 
fearlessness  and  resignation,  they  had  glorified  God. 
Even  at  this  late  day  the  traveller,  as  he  passes  through 
the  blooming  valley  of  the  Tuscarawas,  stops  to  see  the 
spot  where  they  suffered." 

From  this  date  the  fire  of  Zeisberger's  zeal  began  to 
decline,  though  he  still  fouglit  on  nobly.  He  visited 
the  Chippeways,  and  began  a  mission  amongst  them,  and 
led  his  own  remnant  farther  westward  to  find  a  new  and 
a  safer  home,  only,  however,  to  gain  further  experience 
of  massacre,  the  horrors  of  which  were  implicitly 
confessed  to  by  Congress  when  it  "  made  a  grant  of  land 


T 1 2  DA  VI D  ZEISBER  GER. 

to  the  Christian  Indians,"  as  an  indemn.ty.  He  planted 
new  towns  at  Detroit,  and  founded  Fairfield  in  Canada, 
and  Goschen  in  Ohio ;  he  rallied  the  scattered  converts, 
and  pled  their  cause  before  those  in  power.  Though 
the  infirmities  of  age  had  crept  on  him — his  hearing 
being  impaired  and  his  eyesight  dim — he  still  abode 
with  the  Indians  and  ruled  them,  dealing  decisively  with 
intemperance  and  rebuking  it.  As  the  weakness  in- 
creased, he  felt  death  was  not  distant,  and,  sitting  up 
in  bed,  in  spite  of  the  cramp  in  his  bowels,  solemnly 
bade  the  mission  family  farewell.  He  lingered  a  i^w 
days  more,  suffering  great  pain,  then  passed  away  peace- 
fully, responding  to  the  singing  of  the  converts  by  signs 
expressive  of  his  joy  and  peace.  He  died  in  1808,  at 
the  patriarchal  age  of  82. 

He  was  learned  as  well  as  brave.  He  translated 
many  works  into  the  native  tongues,  and  composed 
many  hymns  and  tales.  His  idea  of  weaning  the 
Indians  from  their  wild  mode  of  life  and  attracting 
them  to  the  labours  of  agriculture,  and  settling  them 
in  Christian  communities,  well  deserves  note,  as  from 
the  process  he  followed  hints  may  still  be  drawn  for 
our  missionaries  who  labour  among  certain  savage 
peoples.  Not  only  bold,  daring,  and  self-denying, 
t)Ut  discreet,  sagacious,  and  reticent,  never  acting  pre- 
cipitately, and  yet  never  found  wanting  in  a  crisis, 
Zeisberger  deserves  to  rank  amongst  the  very  greatest 
Christian  missionaries  of  his  own  or  of  any  age. 


H 


a. 

K 


"3    ) 


SAMUEL  HEBICH  AND  THE  HINDUS. 


ON  Christmas  Eve,  in  the  year  1831,  the  students 
at  the  Basle  Missionary  Institute  were  surprised 
in  midst  of  a  distribution  of  Christmas  gifts,  by  the 
somewhat  unceremonious  advent  of  an  important  looking 
but  rather  roughly-attired  visitor.  He  had  come  right 
from  Finland,  where  he  had  successfully  discharged 
responsible  duties,  in  superintending  a  large  estate  and 
a  factory,  to  undergo  training  for  missionary  work.  He 
had  for  some  time  regarded  himself  as  destined  to  this 
field ;  but  one  thing  after  another  had  arisen  to  hinder 
him ;  and  now  as  he  looked  round  on  those  who  were 
to  be  his  fellow-students,  he  must  have  been  struck  by 
their  youthfulness  compared  with  his  own  maturity,  as  the 
good  Director  Blumhardt  introduced  him  to  them  as 
"Dear  Brother  Hebich."  Some  men  might  have  been 
so  vexed  and  disappointed  at  the  sight  as  to  feel  that 
it  was  too  late  for  them  to  persevere.  But  Samuel 
Hebich  at  no  time  was  afraid  to  be  singular,  and  in  his 

earliest,  as  in  his  latest  days,  was  noticeable  for  inde- 

H 


114  SAMUEL  IJEBICH. 

pendence  and  decision  of  character.  He  was  the  fourth 
son  of  a  Lutheran  pastor  at  Nellingen,  a  good  man, 
but  more  eccentric  than  evangeUcal,  who  had  caught 
hold  of  rationalistic  ideas,  but  believed  it  well  for  the 
sake  of  the  common  folk  to  keep  to  the  old  teaching, 
and  who  probably  exhibited  more  of  the  real  spirit  of 
his  life  than  he  was  aware  of,  when,  after  his  son 
Samuel's  confirmation,  he  gave  him  the  present  of  a 
tobacco-pipe  ! 

The  boy  was  sent  in  his  fourteenth  year  to  an  elder 
brother  who  had  succeeded  in  business  at  Lubeck,  that 
he  might  assist  him.  Young  Samuel  did  his  best  to  be 
useful  to  his  brother,  and  to  learn  the  business ;  devoting 
his  evenings  to  make  up  for  deficiencies  in  school- 
learning.  After  three  years  thus  spent,  he  was  bound 
to  a  merchant  for  four  years.  During  this  time  he 
became  subject  to  deep  religious  experiences — underwent 
Bunyan-like  struggles,  till  suddenly  when  out  walking 
during  a  popular  festival  in  182 1  great  peace  fell  upon 
him.  Finding  much  in  the  preaching  of  Pastor  Geibel, 
of  the  Reformed  Church,  he  left  the  Lutherans  and 
joined  that  congregation,  and  his  close  study  of 
Scripture,  and  what  his  brother  regarded  as  religious 
vagary,  soon  brought  painful  protests. 

"  Samuel's  brother  was  not  a  little  put  out  at  finding 
him  spending  every  available  quarter  of  an  hour  in 
poring  over  the  Bible.  He  said  he  would  not  put  up 
with  all  this  hypocrisy  ;  and  there  was  a  great  to-do  in 


SAMUEL  HEBICFT.  115 

the  house.  Nor  was  the  father  less  displeased  :  amongst 
others,  he  wrote  what  his  son  calls  '  a  terrible  letter  : ' 
♦Son,  thou  hast  chosen  the  downward  path,'  &c.,  and 
finished  by  subscribing  himself  'faithfully  your  father, 
a  respected  Lutheran  clergyman,  neither  a  tailor  nor  a 
cobbler.'  Samuel,  who  dearly  loved  his  father,  had  now 
been  parted  from  him  for  four  years,  and  was  on  the 
point  of  returning  home.  As  he  read  this  letter,  all  that 
he  had  received  from  God  seemed  in  a  moment  gone,  a 
Jheavy  weight  oppressed  him,  and  the  language  of  his 
heart  was,  '  You  foolish  lad,  you  !  Barely  twenty  years 
old,  while  your  father  is  over  seventy,  a  learned  and 
experienced  clergyman,  your  brother  held  in  universal 
esteem,  can  it  be  that  both  these  are  mistaken  and  you 
only  right  ?  Surely  not ! '  He  adds  :  '  Sorely  I  grieved, 
the  day  was  wild  and  stormy,  I  could  yet  show  the  spots 
where,  on  my  way  home  through  the  market  place,  I 
seemed  to  hear  a  voice,  '  If  thou  lovest  father  or  mother 
more  than  Me,  thou  art  not  worthy  of  Me.'  At  once 
I  knew  what  I  had  to  do ;  all  my  father's  and  brother's 
reproaches  fell  off  from  me  like  the  rain  which  was  then 
falling." 

It  should  be  said,  however,  that  when  the  lad  paid 
that  expected  visit  shortly  afterwards,  the  father  saw  that 
he  was  really  in  earnest,  and  said  that  he  would  not 
maintain  his  opposition.  Samuel  was  now  seized  with  a 
strong  desire  to  devote  himself  to  missionary  work,  and 
became  a  member  of  the  Lubeck  Missionary  Society; 


ii6  SAMUEL  HE  ETCH. 

but  a  friend,  whose  prudence  he  trusted,  advised  him 
meanwhile  to  remain  at  his  business ;  and  his  indentures 
having  expired,  in  1824,  he  became  clerk  and  traveller 
to  another  mercantile  house  in  Lubeck.     It  was  whilst 
on  a  business  journey  for  this  house,  that  he  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Madame  Lefren,  a  Christian  lady,  who 
by-and-by  invited  him  to  undertake  the  management  of 
some  estates  of  hers  in  Finland.     In  this  position  he 
met  with  great  success  ;  but  Madame  Lefrdn  sympathised 
with    him   in   his   yearnings    towards   missionary  work, 
notwithstanding  that  she  was  likely,  by  his  obtaining  it,  to 
lose  a  good  steward ;  and  she  backed  his  applications  to 
Inspector  Blumhardt,  by  an  offer  to  bear  the  expense  of 
his  training  at  the  Basle  Institute.     From  one  cause  or 
other,  however,  his  acceptance  was  still  delayed  for  more 
than  a  year — the  desire  deepening  as  his  prayers  grew 
more  earnest.     Thus  it  came  about  that  the  students 
at  Basle,  on  Christmas  Eve,  1831,  were  set  wondering 
at  the  advent  of  a  man  of  the  ripe  age  of  twenty-seven, 
who  had  come  direct  to  them  from  Finland. 

He  was  not  very  successful  as  a  student,  we  are  told. 
"  Hebich  has  little  aptitude  for  grammatical  studies," 
said  his  teacher ;  "  probably  he  would  pick  up  languages 
more  readily,  colloquially ;  he  shows,  however,  much 
maturity  of  spiritual  judgment,  and  his  conduct  and 
demeanour  are  excellent."  These  qualities  had  soon 
opportunities  for  showing  themselves — particularly  when 
confederate    troops   occupied    the    town,    in    the    strife 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  117 

between  town  and  country.  Hebich  showed  the  officers 
who  visited  the  mission-house  through  the  museum,  and 
took  occasion  to  speak  earnestly  to  them  of  Christ.  In 
short  trips  here  and  there,  he  was  always  ready  to  bear 
his  testimony — to  speak  or  to  preach.  "  In  Geneva  he 
heard  the  preachers  Bost  and  Malan.  The  latter,  at 
the  close  of  his  sermon,  came  up  to  Hebich  and 
inquired,  'Who  are  you?  Why  do  you  wish  to  join 
us  at  the  Lord's  table  ?  Do  you  love  the  Lord  Jesus  ? ' 
to  which  Hebich  replied,  *  The  Lord  Jesus  is  my  only 
hope,  my  all  in  all'  Whereupon  Malan  took  him  by 
the  hand,  saying,  '  Be  thou  heartily  welcome,  brother  ! ' 
and  kissed  him."  Hebich  continues  :  "  We  afterwards 
spent  three  hours  with  him,  in  intimate  conversation  ;  we 
spoke  of  the  only  foundation  of  all  blessedness,  and 
enjoyed  sweet  communion  of  spirit  The  believers  of 
Geneva  have  done  quite  right  in  separating  themselves 
from  the  National  Church,  for  the  rulers  (or,  which  in 
this  case  is  the  same  thing,  the  State  clergy)  had 
forbidden  them  to  preach  the  Divinity  of  our  dear 
Lord." 

In  August  1833  the  Act  for  the  renewal  of  the 
Charter  of  the  East  India  Company  passed  through 
Parliament,  granting  the  right  of  entry  into  India,  and 
residence  there,  to  Europeans  of  all  nations,  with  the 
privilege  of  holding  land.  This  decided  Hebich's 
choice  of  a  field  of  work,  and  all  that  now  caused 
delay  was  the  question  of  funds.      Fortunately,  Prince 


ir8  SAMUEL  IlEBICIT. 

Victor  of  Schomberg  had  been  led  to  interest  himself 
in  the  condition  of  India,  and  in  1834  he  gave  ten 
thousand  thalers  towards  the  founding  of  a  school  for 
catechumeni.  Hebich  and  two  other  Basle  students, 
Lehner  and  Greiner,  were  selected  to  open  this  new 
field.  Hitherto  the  Basle  Society  had  had  no  intercourse 
with  India,  and  were  so  little  acquainted  with  it,  as  to 
be  unable  to  assign  a  definite  station  to  these  pioneers  ; 
but  they  set  forth  full  of  hope,  with  instructions  to  avail 
themselves  of  any  suitable  offering  on  the  borders  of 
any  of  the  older  mission  districts  in  South  India ;  their 
thoughts  more  particularly  turning  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  successful  Tinnevelly  mission.  On  his  way 
through  London,  Hebich  attended  the  May  meetings, 
and,  owing  to  some  differences  between  two  societies 
already  established  in  India,  representations  were  made 
to  the  Basle  Society,  and  he  was  instructed  to  fix 
upon  "  some  healthy  town,  between  Cochin  and 
Bombay." 

Accordingly,  Mangalore  was  chosen  as  the  best  point 
where  they  might  settle  and  learn  the  Canarese  tongue. 
During  the  voyage  Hebich's  ministrations  to  the  crew  of 
the  "  Malabar "  were  so  highly  beneficial  and  so  much 
appreciated  that  we  are  told  the  mate,  who  was  after- 
wards made  captain,  on  his  visits  twice  a  year  to 
Cannanore,  always  gave  Hebich  the  opportunity  of 
carrying  on  his  work  of  dealing  with  men,  officers,  and 
passengers  on  board  his  vessel  up  to  the  last  moment. 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  119 

And  in  that  form  of  prayer,  which,  though  unwritten, 
had  become  by  force  of  usage  as  stereotyped  to  him 
aUnost  as  a  liturgy,  Hebich  always  remembered  that 
ship  every  Sunday. 

On  the  14th  of  October  they  reached  Calicut,  and 
were  warmly  welcomed  by  Mr.  Nelson,  then  judge  there, 
who  procured  them  a  boat  to  their  destination.  There 
they  found  a  true  friend  in  Mr.  Finlay  Anderson,  the 
sub-collector,  to  whom  Mr.  Nelson  had  recommended 
them.  The  whole  coast  from  Bombay  to  Cochin  was  as 
yet  unoccupied  ;  and,  looking  inland,  Bangalore,  Bellary, 
Belgaum,  were  the  nearest  stations,  each  between  one 
and  two  hundred  miles  distant  All  these  stations  were 
within  the  Canarese-speaking  district,  and  they  therefore 
opened  correspondence  with  the  brethren  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society  who  were  stationed  there.  Greatly 
did  they  rejoice,  we  are  told,  over  the  cordial  letters  of 
welcome,  and  over  the  first  Canarese  tract  received  from 
these  stations  in  reply. 

They  found  the  races  so  mixed  that  they  decided  it 
would  be  necessary  for  them  to  master  another  language 
besides  Canarese.  It  was  therefore  agreed  that  Lehner 
should  devote  himself  to  Konkani.  In  December  they 
entered  a  hired  house  on  the  hills,  where  they  worked 
away  undisturbed,  with  two  native  teachers.  The  popu- 
lation of  Canara  at  that  time  was  estimated  at  20,000 
Roman  Catholics,  651,000  Hindus  of  various  castes  and 
sects,  and  46,000  Mohammedans.     The  English  in  the 


120  SAMUEL  HEBICH. 

station  itself  numbered  about  i8;  they  were  visited 
twice  in  the  year  by  a  chaplain  from  Cannanore ;  so  they 
begged  to  have  divine  service  on  Sundays. 

Hebich  soon  found  himself  at  home  in  his  new  sphere  ; 
but  he  was  sadly  dismayed  when  he  was  told  that  he  had 
better  not  begin  anything  for  two  years.  Never,  perhaps, 
was  the  patience  of  man  more  severely  tried;  he  was 
consumed  with  pity  for  the  idolaters  around  him,  and 
was  eager  to  speak  to  them  of  Christ.  The  Roman 
Catholics,  he  says,  were  in  almost  as  deplorable  a  condi- 
tion as  the  heathens,  having  retained  caste  and  most  of 
their  heathen  habits.  The  Bible  was  absolutely  for- 
bidden to  them.  It  was,  therefore,  very  hard  for  him  to 
wait  Action  of  some  kind  had  always  been  necessary 
to  him,  and  never  more  so  than  now.  He  hit  upon  a 
happy  way  of  relieving  his  depression. 

Correspondence  with  the  brethren  of  the  English 
mission  stations  led  him  to  desire  to  see  their  work; 
and  he  therefore  set  out  in  October  1835,  travelling  in 
a  palanquin.  He  first  visited  Cannanore,  then  Mysore, 
Bangalore,  and  Bellary,  where  Mr.  Hands  had  founded 
the  first  Canarese  mission  in  18 10.  Here  he  spent 
three  happy  weeks,  and  then  pursued  his  way  towards 
Harrihar,  which  had  been  recommended  to  him  as 
very  suitable  for  a  mission ;  but  he  preferred  Hubli, 
the  next  station  to  Dharwar. 

What  he  had  seen  made  him  sure  of  one  thing — that 
they  must  "go  out  among  the  people."    This  was  now 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  xrt 

his  aim,  and,  accordingly,  a  house  was  taken  near  to  the 
bazaar,  which  was  constantly  visited.  Then  a  Canarese 
school  was  built,  and  the  parents  were  waited  on  and 
urged  to  send  their  children.  It  was  uphill  work ;  but 
Hebich  writes — 

"  What  a  joy  it  is,  when  we  feel  all  the  difficulties  of 
our  way,  and  remember  that  it  leads  heavenwards  !  In 
all  the  press  of  work  that  comes  upon  us,  all  seems  at 
times  only  darkness  before  me,  but  I  press  on  in  the 
Lord's  name,  and  lo  !  a  ray  of  light  shines  through  my 
night,  and  with  that  light  come  strength  and  courage  for 
the  contest.  Many  consider  me  a  fool  or  an  enthusiast ; 
others  say,  nay,  but  I  am  a  pious  man.  But  what  avails 
the  judgment  of  men  unless  we  have  the  seal  of  God, 
the  witness  of  His  Spirit  in  ourselves  ?  The  Lord  ac- 
knowledges my  weak  efforts,  and  that  humbles  me." 

The  work  was  persevered  in  faithfully ;  but  he  needed 
all  the  heartening  and  strength  to  be  derived  from  such 
considerations  as  the  above  extract  refers  to,  as  our 
readers  will  acknowledge  in  thinking  over  the  follow- 
ing :— 

"*We  do  not  want  you  here,'  a  high  and  mighty 
Brahman  once  said  to  the  missionary.  Pelting  with 
stones  or  with  filth  became  almost  a  matter  of  course, 
till  one  day  Hebich  roundly  rebuked  a  lazy  policeman 
who  was  looking  on  unconcerned,  and  after  much  con- 
sideration, Mr.  Anderson  gave  a  hint  to  the  police  that 
when   they  happened   to   see   such  disorderly  conduct 


122  SAMUEL  HEBICir. 

they  were  to  put  a  stop  to  it.  It  would  have  been  too 
unreasonable  to  tell  the  police  that  they  were  to  be  on 
the  look-out  for  such  disorders.  When  the  Brahmans 
asked  whether  the  Government  had  ordered  them  to 
preach,  Hebich  replied,  '  No  !  but  the  God  of  heaven 
and  earth  alone  has  commissioned  me  to  do  it.'  Then 
a  Brahman  held  up  four  nails  which  he  happened  to  have 
at  hand,  exclaiming,  '  A  God  who  was  nailed  to  a  cross 
with  nails  like  this  ! '  a  piece  of  wit  which  was  rewarded 
by  loud  applause  from  the  crowd.  But  when  Hebich, 
in  full  earnest,  threatened  them  with  the  wrath  of  God, 
telling  them  that  they  were  deceivers  of  the  people,  and 
calling  heaven  and  earth  to  witness  that  he  was  only 
speaking  the  truth,  which  they  themselves  would  have 
to  acknowledge  when  perhaps  too  late — these  wiseacres 
and  witlings  shrunk  away  home.  From  this  time  forth  a 
certain  intimacy  was  established  between  the  missionary 
and  the  inhabitants  of  Mangalore.  They  were  freely 
visited  by  men  of  the  highest  castes,  and  on  the  other 
hand  they  found  their  way  into  the  cottages  of  poor 
palm-climbers  and  fishermen.  .  .  .  Meanwhile  the 
English  residents  induced  Hebich  to  undertake  a  new- 
line  of  work;  they  had  a  poor-fund,  with  a  monthly 
income  of  about  eighty  rupees,  of  which  he  became  the 
manager.  This  involved  a  weekly  distribution  of  rice 
to  paupers;  and  the  care  of  a  number  of  lepers  and 
cripples,  gathered  in  a  poorhouse  near  the  gaol;  these 
opportunities  weie   used   for  preaching   the   Gospel  to 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  123 

them.  Hebich  divided  his  evenings  between  bazaar- 
preaching  and  the  schools ;  thus,  as  much  as  his  know- 
ledge of  Canarese  would  allow  him,  dealing  in  one  case 
with  those  still  far  off,  and  in  the  other,  by  lamplight,  to 
those  who  had  already  been  drawn  somewhat  nearer," 

A  reinforcement  of  four  brethren  having  been  sent 
out  from  Basle,  Hebich  at  once  proceeded  vigorously  to 
dispose  of  them  by  planting  them  at  the  points  most 
available.  With  H.  Mogling  from  Wurtemberg,  he 
proceeded  by  Goa  to  Dharwar,  where  he  began  a  great 
work,  which  necessitated  his  very  soon  being  joined  by 
two  of  those  who  had  come  out  from  Europe  with  him. 
One  trait,  which  in  spite  of  some  eccentricity  and 
reserve  in  council,  Hebich  had  in  common  with  most  of 
the  great  organisers  and  leaders  of  men,  was  the  gift  of 
discerning  what  a  man  was  fit  for.  His  judgment  in  the 
settlement  of  Mogling  amply  justified  itself,  in  spite  of 
one  error  on  Mogling's  part,  which  shall  be  referred  to 
by  and  by.  With  them,  before  returning  home,  Hebich 
visited  Hubli,  and  decided  that  very  soon  it  must 
become  the  centre  of  a  new  mission. 

"  Hebich,"  we  are  told,  "  set  out  alone  to  travel 
slowly  towards  Mangalore,  preaching  to  the  heathen 
by  the  way.  He  received  a  letter  from  the  collector  of 
Dharwar,  warning  him  of  possible  danger,  and  begging 
him  to  be  very  guarded  in  his  intercourse  with  the 
natives;  but  he  did  not  allow  this  to  hinder  him  in 
delivering  his  message.     The  collector  in  his  letter  urged 


124  SAMUEL  HEBICH. 

him  to  be  particularly  careful  not  to  speak  of  the  vanity 
of  the  heathen  gods.  His  comment  was — '  Poor  fellow  ! 
he  knows  nothing  about  what  I  preach;  but  I  have 
God's  Word  to  declare,  and  I  d'are  not  keep  silence. 
Amen.'" 

The  insurrection,  which  shortly  after  this  arose,  filled 
Mangalore  with  soldiers.  Hebich  became  only  the  more 
convinced  of  his  call  to  declare  God's  Word  to  English 
as  well  as  to  heathens.  Some  friends  represented  to  him 
that  there  was  great  danger  of  falling  into  by-paths,  and 
that  to  the  heathens  only  should  he  look. 

"  Am  I  a  servant  of  God  for  the  heatnen  only,  and 
not  rather  for  all  men  ?  "  he  urged  in  reply.  *'  I  feel  that 
the  British  have  claims  upon  me ;  first,  because  our  way  is 
opened  to  the  natives  by  the  fact  that  God  has  committed 
this  country  to  them ;  secondly,  because  God  bestows 
upon  us  unnumbered  benefits  through  their  rule ;  thirdly, 
because  our  mission  could  never  have  attained  its 
present  state  but  for  their  liberality.  And  shall  nothing 
be  done  for  them  in  return  ?  In  their  case  it  has  been 
found  true  that  we  ourselves  have  been  the  first  to  enjoy 
the  fruits  brought  forth  by  our  own  kindness.  .  .  . 
Yet  we  may  well  be  thankful  for  the  warning  against  all 
wandering  in  by-paths.  If,  at  a  station  where  there  is  no 
chaplain,  we  missionaries  give  the  English  a  weekly 
service,  it  is  no  more  than  we  ought  to  do.  If  the 
heathen  have  a  mind  to  be  saved,  there  is  no  lack  of 
opportunity  for  them  to  hear  the  word.     01  course,  we 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  125 

must  not  allow  such  occasional  services  to  keep  us  back 
from  preaching-tours.  For  myself,  so  far  as  I  can 
perceive  the  Master's  will,  I  should  not  grudge  to  give 
up  a  month  or  two  every  year  to  work  among  the 
English." 

In  the  end  of  1836  several  men  of  lower  caste  were 
baptized;  in  the  beginning  of  1837  there  were  twenty- 
two  boys  in  the  orphanage ;  building  operations  went  on 
vigorously ;  and  the  brethren  were  ceaselessly  itinerating 
and  preaching  in  country  places.  In  July,  to  Hebich's 
great  joy,  both  the  Canarese  teachers  and  three  palm 
cultivators  asked  for  baptism  and  broke  caste,  in  spite  of 
what  they  had  to  suffer  from  their  relatives.  The  new 
station  at  HubU  had  to  be  organised,  and  thither  Hebich 
went.  He  even  prevailed  on  Mr.  Mills,  the  collector,  to 
grant  a  site,  and  preparations  went  on  apace.  Mean- 
while, at  the  festival  of  the  goddess  at  Sandidi,  he 
camped  out,  like  the  rest,  in  the  open  field,  living  among 
the  people  as  he  had  never  done  before.  Here  he 
preached  and  conversed,  and  produced  a  powerful  effect 
Returning  to  Hubli,  and  finding  that  building  could 
not  commence  for  some  time,  he  set  out  on  another 
missionary  tour,  going  to  Puttoor,  Coorg,  Chinnapatam, 
Bangalore,  and  Chittoor.  In  the  course  of  this  journey 
various  remarkable  adventures  befell  him,  and  he  had 
some  original  encounters  both  with  Europeans  and  with 
natives.  At  Mercara  we  learn  that  his  horse  fell  with 
him. 


126  SAMUEL  HEBICH. 

"  The  accident  might  have  been  serious,  but  from  that 
moment,  even  when  in  suffering,  he  was  able  to  testify 
boldly.  His  principal  opponent  was  an  officer  of 
engineers,  who,  denying  any  freewill  in  man,  sought  to 
cast  on  God  all  the  responsibility  of  sin.  Hebich  one 
day  forced  him  down  into  a  chair,  saying  (to  convince 
him  that  he  had  the  power  to  sit  or  rise),  '  Sit  you 
there  ! '  A  lady  once  said  to  him,  in  the  presence  of  her 
husband,  a  surgeon  and  philosophist,  'You  do  preach 
such  terrible  things  ! '  to  which  the  husband  remarked, 

*  Well,  I  am  able  to  laugh  at  all  Mr.  Hebich  tells  us.' 

*  Yes,'  said  Hebich,  '  you  laugh  now.  Wait  till  you  come 
to  your  deathbed,  and  then  tell  me  where  the  laugh  is.' 
Thus,  in  the  houses  of  the  gentry,  he  had  what  he  styles 

*  lively  encounters,'  but  he  was  also  diligent  in  seeking 
to  lead  the  ill-educated  half-castes  into  the  doctrine  of 
justification,  on  which  important  doctrine  he  says  he 
found  the  people  very  badly  grounded.  He  had  the 
joy  to  baptize  a  few  of  these  in  the  regiment  stationed 
there,  who  had  been  moved  to  earnestness  by  his 
ministry,  and  thus  to  constitute  a  little  church,  which  he 
put  under  the  care  of  the  apothecary." 

At  Chittoor  he  hired  a  bullock-cart,  and  in  it  he 
passed  slowly  from  village  to  village,  declaring  the  glad 
tidings. 

"In  this  fashion  he  reached  Nandidroog,  where  he 
was  exposed  to  a  peculiar  danger.  A  Mohammedan 
state-prisoner  was  confined  in  a  hill  fort  at  this  place, 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  127 

■who  invited  Hebich  to  visit  him.  During  the  interview 
the  missionary  taxed  the  Koran  with  falsehood ;  where- 
upon the  Mohammedan  first  threw  his  slippers  at  him, 
and  then  ran  at  him  with  a  drawn  dagger ;  a  precipitate 
retreat  over  the  slippery  gran-ite  rocks  alone  saved  his 
life.  On  another  occasion  he  was  pelted  with  stones ; 
but  these  were  rare  exceptions ;  for  the  first  declaration 
of  the  truth  generally  met  with  a  glad  hearing :  at  times 
also  only  with  a  stare  of  stupid  astonishment." 

At  Toomkoor  Hebich  learned  that  Mogling,  who  had 
gone  to  Mangalore  to  take  his  place,  had  bsen  caught  in 
the  toils  of  self-will,  and  that  the  mission  was  threatened 
with  danger.  Warnings  from  another  quarter  had,  how- 
ever, sufficed  to  bring  Mogling  to  a  sense  of  his  danger 
before  the  evil  was  irremediable.  Hebich  hurried  to 
Dharwar,  and,  like  a  true  bishop  and  missionary,  wrote 
to  him  from  there  such  a  letter  as  not  only  restored  its 
old  harmony  and  prosperity  to  the  mission,  but  brought 
Hebich  and  Mogling  into  yet  closer  union. 

Far  from  being  an  ascetic,  Hebich  had  frequently  to 
protest  against  a  tendency  to  it  in  his  fellow-workers. 
When  he  first  began  to  fear  that  there  was  too  great  a 
bias  that  way  amongst  his  associates  at  Dharwar,  he 
wrote  to  them  in  the  most  sensible  terms.  They  were 
thinking  of  purchasing  a  house,  and  had,  as  he  thought, 
underrated  or  ignored  considerations  of  their  own  health 
and  comfort,  and  thus  he  protests — 

"  I  would  certainly  not  do  without  the  verandah ;  and 


128  SAMUEL  HEBICH. 

especially  do  not  cramp  j'ourselves  too  much  for  room, 
it  will  only  be  a  loss  in  the  end.  I  have  learnt  some 
lessons  from  my  own  experience  in  building ;  I  often 
wax  warm  over  it ;  but  when  my  courage  is  ready  to  fail» 
the  Lord  lifts  me  up  again,  and  the  work  goes  on  all  the 
more  cheerily.  Even  in  such  dull  work  He  ever  makes 
me  '  more  than  conqueror.'  Again  I  hear  that  you  deny 
yourselves  the  Lord's  good  gifts,  such  as  butter,  milk, 
sugar,  &c.  Now  I  do  not  mean  to  lord  it  over  you ;  do 
as  you  judge  right ;  let  me  only  say.  Be  wise,  enjoy  with 
thankful  hearts  any  refreshment  you  can  fairly  attain  to ; 
our  Master  is  not  so  poor  as  to  grudge  these  things  to 
His  servants;  in  India  a  more  strengthening  diet  is 
needed  than  in  Europe  :  I  write  this  only  out  of  affection, 
so  forgive  me  ! " 

His  stay  in  Mangalore  was  now  drawing  to  a  close. 
He  felt  that  the  mission  there  would  be  left  in  good 
hands,  and  that  he  could  move  to  a  new  field.  His 
attention  was  therefore  turned  to  Cannanore,  whither  he 
went,  and  repeated,  with  some  variations,  the  Mangalore 
story.  The  town,  which  lies  along  the  sandy  beach  of 
the  bay,  east  and  south  from  the  fort,  is  solidly  built,  but 
the  streets  are  narrow  and  dirty.  The  population,  as  at 
Mangalore,  is  very  mixed ;  but  there  is  here  a  large  pro- 
portion of  Mohammedans — a  peculiar  tribe  of  Mapilas, 
the  chief  men  of  which  are  merchants,  claiming  princely 
authority.  Up  till  this  time  Cannanore  had  been  looked 
after  by  brethren  from  the  Basle  mission   stationed  at 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  129 

TelUcherry,  who  paid  monthly  visits ;  but  no  great 
result  had  followed,  and  matters  had  fallen  into  confusion, 
when  Hebich  began  duty  in  it.  At  first  he  was  com- 
missioned only  for  a  few  months  to  set  things  in  order; 
but,  seeing  that  a  great  work  had  been  begun,  all  con- 
nected with  the  missions  agreed  that  it  would  be  well  for 
him  to  stay.  Very  soon  he  had  drawn  converts  from 
various  classes.  His  apt  replies,  his  affability,  his 
unwearying  endeavours,  his  original  and  quaint  way  of 
illustrating  spiritual  things,  captivated  the  natives. 

"  One  of  the  devices  by  which  he  sought  to  explain 
to  them  the  incarnation  of  Christ,  was  to  use  a  large 
copper  coin  and  a  silver  rupee  of  the  like  size.  He 
covered  the  silver  coin  with  the  copper  one,  and  held  it 
up  to  view.  Naturally  each  one  judged  that  it  was 
copper  only,  of  no  great  worth ;  but  then  he  slipped  the 
copper  aside  and  showed  what  was  underneath  it — the 
silver,  the  Divine  nature.  The  same  coins  served  also  to 
show  the  justification  ;  the  sinner's  worthlessness  being 
covered  by  the  righteousness  of  Christ.  Then  the  silver 
only  could  be  seen,  the  great  value  of  the  Divine  nature, 
though  behind  it  ever  was  the  old  copper,  the  still  sinful 
and  worthless  human  nature.  And  he  never  rested  till 
the  poor  obtuse  Tamul  women,  full  of  notions  of  the 
law  and  of  their  own  righteousness,  began  to  see  some- 
thing of  the  mind  and  counsel  of  God." 

In  this  way  he  wrought  hard  amongst  the  native 
population,  not  forgetting  Portuguese  and  Indo-Britons, 


>30  SAMUEL  HEBICII. 

who,  he  declared,  "  need  help,  and  whose  influence  on 
the  people  is  not  inconsiderable."  He  sought  so  to 
preach  in  the  little  Tamul  church  as  that  it  should  grow 
both  in  mind,  power,  and  in  members.  He  had  not 
often  the  privilege  of  baptizing  any  of  the  Malayalas; 
yet,  from  that  caste  sprang  a  Nayer  youth  named 
Krishna,  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  who  afterwards 
became  his  much-beloved  Timotheus.  Among  the 
inmates  of  the  poorhouse  were  many  Malayalas,  to 
whom  he  constantly  preached,  and  some  of  whom  were 
baptized.  Of  that  work  he  records,  "  There  is  nothing 
there  to  please  men."  A  Malayahm  school,  which  was 
tried,  was  filled  with  one  hundred  children  or  more,  and 
prepared  the  way  for  access  to  the  people  of  the  land. 

One  trace  of  his  influence  with  the  English  residents 
we  get  in  the  following  paragraph  : — 

"  He  strongly  urged  the  importance  of  the  women  being 
taught  to  read  as  well  as  the  men,  and  tried  to  make  a 
beginning,  but  was  soon  brought  to  a  stand.  He  found 
the  people  so  filthy,  that  he  had  to  give  most  of  the 
women  a  garment  in  which  they  might  decently  appear 
at  divine  service.  An  English  friend  supplied  the 
necessary  funds  for  this,  A  chapel,  at  no  great  distance 
from  the  European  barracks,  was  also  given  to  him  for 
the  use  of  the  mission.  The  chaplain  added  the  gift  of 
a  small  schoolhouse.  It  was  arranged  that,  under  the 
supervision  of  Mr.  Gundert  from  Tellicherry,  two 
catechists,  who  had  been  sent  from  Tinnevelly,  would 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  131 

have  the  care  of  the  church  and  school ;  but  they  were 
very  inefficient,  and  had  ultimately  to  take  to  other 
employments." 

Hebich  was  therefore  once  more  thrown  on  his  own 
resources,  without  any  efficient  aid.  But  he  did  not  fall 
down  hopelessly  because  others  failed  in  rendering  the 
assistance  he  had  expected  of  them.  He  visited  the 
bazaars,  preached  in  the  streets,  had  preaching-stations 
in  the  bullock-lines  among  the  artillerymen.  "Poor 
fellows,  weary  of  the  service  of  sin,"  he  says,  "  came  in 
ever-increasing  numbers  to  the  chapel,  which  was  so 
invitingly  near  to  the  barracks." 

Many  came  at  first  to  the  services  out  of  sheer 
curiosity  and  idleness,  and  indulged  in  a  good  laugh  at 
the  strange  pronunciation  and  unusual  manner  of  the 
preacher.  But  yet  many  also  found  an  attraction  in 
him — found  that  they  could  learn  from  him  and  be 
interested  in  him.     His  biographer  tell  us  that — 

"A  Scotchwoman,  a  soldier's  wife,  declared  that  she 
had  never  understood  any  one  so  well  since  she  left 
Scotland.  Men  hitherto  known  as  drunkards  and 
debauchees  were  converted,  and  became  changed  char- 
acters; and  soon  Hebich's  name  was  in  all  mouths. 
.  .  .  The  English  soldiers  once  asked  him  to  preach 
at  their  anniversary  temperance  meeting.  He  thought 
this  marked  out  his  duty,  to  forego  the  use  of  beer  and 
■wine.  It  must  be  remembered  that  he  often  had  to  do 
with  drunkards ;  and  he  found  that  in  their  case  total 


132  SAMUEL  HEBICII. 

abstinence  was  the  only  way  to  keep  them  from  back- 
sliding. He  also  strongly  recommended  his  'children,' 
whether  officers  or  priv^ates,  not  to  hesitate  about  giving 
the  only  example  that  could  be  easily  understood  in  this 
matter.  He  kept  to  this  so  long  as  he  remained  in 
India,  and  found  the  advantage  of  it." 

One  of  the  pleasures  of  his  life  was  to  pay  a  visit 
to  the  brethren  at  Tellicherry.  "When  Hebich  felt 
some  burden  heavy  upon  him  he  would  often  ride  over, 
sometimes  even  in  the  night,  to  talk  matters  over.  More 
frequently  he  sent  over  boys  and  girls  who  had  come 
under  his  influence,  for  the  advantage  of  the  Tellicherry 
educational  establishments.  At  first  he  had  not  been 
careful  to  add  schools  or  any  means  for  regular  instruction 
to  his  own  station."  And  he  adopted  very  politic  and 
effective  measures  to  stop  the  fatal  impurity  that  prevailed 
both  among  Europeans  and  natives.  He  had  been  so 
successful  in  training  natives  to  assist  him  in  the  work 
that  we  find  him,  in  1843,  writing  to  the  Home  Com- 
mittee, that  "not  only  were  he  and  his  native  helpers 
equal  to  maintain  this  peculiarly  constituted  station,  but 
that  he  could  even  extend  his  line  of  work — and  was  he 
not  even  doing  so  at  that  moment  in  the  direction  of  the 
fishery  village  of  Tai  ?  In  so  confined  a  field  a  second 
missionary  would  find  it  hard  to  work  by  his  side.  For 
his  part  he  was  now  so  bound  in  spirit  to  these  dear  souls, 
that  he  could  no  longer  undertake  distant  journeys. 
Should  he  die  at  his  post,  one  of  the   older  brethren 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  133 

should  take  his  place.     A  novice  would  never  get  on  in 
work  among  the  mob  of  this  place." 

But  in  spite  of  this,  before  another  year,  he  was 
earnestly  engaged  in  the  establishment  of  out-stations, 
into  which  he  went  with  all  his  wonted  vigour,  making 
deep  impressions,  and  having  conversions  to  record  in 
many  places;  then  he  devoted  himself  to  a  course  of 
visitations  of  the  heathen  temples  at  the  times  of  festival  • 
he  instituted  a  mission  at  Angerakandi,  and  another  at 
Palghat,  where  he  was  when  the  mutiny  arose.  Indeed, 
as  the  direct  results  of  his  labours,  a  great  revival  broke 
out  in  one  section  of  his  district,  of  which  much  might 
be  said. 

The  following  extracts  will  give  an  idea  of  Hebich's 
trials  during  these  visitations — 

"  At  a  place  called  Cherukunu,  near  the  high  road  to 
Mangalore,  a  steep  hill,  crowned  by  a  temple  dedicated 
to  Kali,  rises  out  of  an  extensive  plain.  On  the  15th  of 
April  1846 — that  is,  just  in  the  hot  season — Hebich, 
having  sent  on  his  servants  to  pitch  his  tent  during  the 
night,  arrived  there.  He  was  suffering  much  from  boils 
at  the  time.  The  early  devotions  of  the  little  Christian 
band  were  disturbed  by  angry  shouts.  A  man  came, 
and  angrily  declared  that  Hebich  had  no  business  to 
pitch  his  tent  on  the  sandy  spot  which  had  been  chosen 
for  the  purpose ;  it  was  his  property.  The  head  man  of 
the  village  was  sent  for  to  settle  this  dispute,  but  he 
could  nowhere  be  found.      It  was  with  difficulty  that 


J 34  SAMUEL  HEBICH. 

the  peace  was  kept  till  mid-day.  Afterwards,  when 
Hebich,  standing  under  a  tree,  began  to  preach,  the 
youth  of  the  place  tried  to  drown  his  voice  with  their 
yells.  They  next  began  to  pelt  him  with  sand;  then, 
suddenly  the  whole  crowd  rushed  at  the  tent,  cut  the 
ropes,  and  tried  to  trample  it  and  the  Christians  it 
sheltered  in  the  dust.  With  difficulty  the  tent-pole  was 
held  upright,  while  the  crowd  without  were  shoving  and 
striking  it.  This  combat  around  the  tent  lasted  for  two 
hours.  At  six  o'clock  the  tom-tom  sounded,  and  some 
guns  were  fired,  calling  to  the  great  sacrificial  procession. 
An  elephant  took  fright  and  shied  at  the  tent,  and  the 
crowd  went  off  after  him.  But  Hebich  had  had  enough 
of  it  No  sooner  thus  left  to  himself  than  he  packed  up 
hastily,  and  made  the  best  of  his  way  home  to  Can- 
nanore,  where  he  arrived  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night. 
He  truly  rejoiced  in  bearing  the  cross.  Though,  as  he 
called  himself,  '  a  dull  and  unskilful  and  sinful  scholar  in 
the  school  of  Christ,'  he  counted  it  all  joy  to  be  allowed 
to  suffer  shame  for  the  Holy  One.  However,  he  never 
again  visited  this  '  devil's  place.' 

"Once  in  1847,  while  Hebich  was  praying,  prepara- 
tory to  preaching  during  a  minor  festival  at  Cherikal,  the 
people  attempted  to  drive  the  village  cattle  violently  against 
him ;  but  they  failed  in  their  effort,  the  cattle  running  off 
in  all  directions.  The  collector  of  Malabar,  at  that  time, 
was  a  noble-minded  man,  anxious  to  prepare  the  way 
of  the  Gospel ;  though  also,  and  naturally,  anxious  to  do 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  1 35 

SO  with  all  caution.  Hebich  spoke  to  him  about  all 
these  interruptions,  saying  that  should  he  even  be  killed 
during  his  ministry  he  did  not  personally  wish  that  any 
one  should  be  held  responsible  for  it ;  that  none  of  the 
collector's  pohce  could  prevent  this,  unless  God  Himself 
restrained  the  people.  All  that  he  desired  was  that  the 
ringleaders  should  be  sharply  cautioned  ;  for,  in  all  these 
cases  it  was  invariably  one  or  two  rascals  who,  exciting 
the  mob,  were  really  to  blame.  This  the  collector  con- 
sented to  do,  and,  thanks  to  a  few  private  hints  to  the 
lower  officials,  things  went  on  much  more  quietly  at  the 
principal  festivals." 

Hebich,  after  a  time,  had  had  so  often  to  lament  the 
languidness  of  the  native  catechists  that  we  are  not 
surprised  to  meet  with  this  record  in  1845:  "I  must 
confess  that  even  the  best  catechists  do  very  little.  They 
have  not  as  yet  sufficient  courage  or  push  to  go  boldly 
among  the  heathen,  or  even  to  visit  them  in  their  houses. 
The  natives  have  a  rough  manner,  as  though  they  would 
devour  the  catechist ;  and  will  not  listen  to  him,  and  he 
is  at  once  silenced.  Yet,  keen  and  unscrupulous  as  the 
natives  are  in  the  things  of  this  world,  no  sooner  are 
they  converted  than  they  stand  as  frightened,  helpless 
sheep.  It  is  only  the  actual  presence  of  the  missionary 
that  gives  a  native  catechist  any  courage." 

Mogling,  in  order  to  meet  the  difficulties  that  had 
arisen  from  this  cause,  had  set  himself  to  inaugurate 
a  system  of  European  training  which  should  have  the 


136  SAMUEL  HEBICH. 

effect  of  instilling  more  of  independence  into  the  native 
converts.  This  idea  seems  to  have  suggested  to  Hebich 
the  possibility  of  making  use  of  some  of  his  European 
converts,  more  especially  those  in  the  several  regiments 
that  had  visited  Cannanore.  He  would  so  far  as  he  could 
transform  them  into  natives,  and  thus  have  an  order 
of  genuine  assistants  with  European  persistency,  but  with 
native  habits  and  modes  of  thought,  to  preach  and  to 
itinerate.  It  was  a  bold  idea,  but  not  in  every  respect  a 
prudent  one.  It  is  surprising  that  it  turned  out  so  well 
as  it  did.  •'  If  he,"  said  Hebich,  referring  ^o  that  plan 
of  Mogling's,  "is  about  to  turn  an  able  native  into  a 
European,  why  should  not  I  seek  out  Europeans  of  a 
suitable  spirit  and  turn  them  into  natives?"  He  had 
already,  as  he  thought,  the  proper  material :  two 
soldiers,  who  had  recently  been  converted,  and  who  had 
devoted  themselves,  body  and  soul,  to  the  service  of  the 
German  Evangelical  mission.  These  he  now  made  to 
bind  themselves  even  in  case  of  sickness,  not  to  return 
to  England,  or  to  go  elsewhere,  but  to  die  where  God 
had  placed  them  ;  never  to  aspire  to  be  aught  but  a 
Christian  catechist ;  to  marry,  if  they  did  marry,  from 
among  the  native  sisters  ;  and  to  live  in  every  respect  as 
natives  in  food,  dress,  &c. 

The  discharges  of  these  two — an  Englishman,  Joseph 
Searle,  and  an  Irishman,  George  O'Brien — were  accord- 
ingly bought,  and  they  were  set  apart  for  this  work,  and 
others  by  and  by  were  added  to  their  number. 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  137 

Some  of  these  failed  and  went  back — as,  in  midst 
of  so  many  temptations,  was  to  be  almost  expected — but 
O'Brien  was  firm  and  true.  For  years  he  worked  in 
Palghat  and  obtained  great  influence.  We  read  that,  on 
one  of  his  visits  there — 

"  Hebich  was  pleased  to  notice  that  this  warmhearted 
and  somewhat  impulsive  Irishman  of  his  was  able  to  find 
admission  without  reserve  into  all  circles.  With  nice 
tact  he  attended  scrupulously  to  the  minutiae  of  Malay- 
ahm  etiquette;  using  in  his  addresses  to  the  higher 
classes  those  titles  to  which  each  rank  considered  itself 
entitled.  O'Brien  worked  the  station  well.  He  was  in- 
defatigable, travelling  about  from  market-town  to  market- 
town,  to  preach  to  the  inhabitants.  He  was,  however, 
not  sufficiently  careful  about  his  own  health.  During  the 
first  year  of  his  stay  in  Palghat,  he  had  to  be  invalided 
at  Coimbatore  hospital  for  liver  complaint.  His  desire 
was  so  strong  to  be  out  among  the  thousands  who  were 
still  ignorant  of  Christ,  that  he  was  slow  to  adopt  the 
necessary  precautions  against  an  Indian  climate.  As 
the  congregation  consisted  largely  of  Tamul  domestic 
servants,  he  learned  that  language  from  his  brother-in- 
law,  to  be  able  the  better  to  minister  among  them.  He 
quite  won  the  affections  of  the  drummers  and  musicians 
of  the  regiment.  One  of  the  officers  tried  to  counteract 
this  by  getting  up  a  cricket-club ;  but  this  had  only 
a  very  partial  success.  He  even  gained  access  among 
the  Roman  Catholics.      From  his  childhood  he  had  been 


135  SAMUEL  HEBICH. 

familiar  with  Romanism;  but  meeting  one  day  a  pro- 
cession carrying  an  image  of  St.  Sebastian,  to  avert  an 
outbreak  of  cholera,  he  was  stirred  to  protest  vehemently 
against  the  undisguised  idolatry  of  Romanism  in  India. 
Of  course,  the  priests  warned  their  flocks  against  asso- 
ciating with  the  heretic ;  yet  not  a  few  from  their  fold 
appreciated  the  better  pastures  to  be  found  in  the 
interdicted  pages  of  the  New  Testament." 

Another  of  these  soldier-catechists  v/as  Stocking. 
He  had  served  in  the  94th  Foot,  and  was  settled  in 
Taliparambu;  and  prosecuted  with  considerable  result 
many  tours  in  the  regions  round  about.  A  savage 
tribe,  known  as  Mavilars,  was  especially  taken  in  charge 
by  him.  To  him,  in  a  large  degree,  was  due  the  marked 
change  which  by  and  by  appeared  in  Taliparambu,  and 
justified  Hebich's  strong  conviction  that  "the  richest 
harvest  among  the  Malayalim  people  would  be  gathered 
in  here ! "  The  heathen  soon  began  to  feel  and  to 
acknowledge  that  ground  was  being  gained.  "  One 
day,"  we  are  told,  "a  Brahman,  after  standing  awhile 
watching  the  progress  of  the  new  building,  exclaimed 
to  the  catechist,  'Well,  we  have  stirred  up  everything 
to  oppose  your  padre,  but  he  has  conquered.  But  now 
if  you  come  to  live  here  among  us  we  will  meet  you  on 
friendly  terms,  and  deal  fairly  by  you,  but  you  must  not 
tell  us  to  become  Christians.' " 

But  of  all  the  European  converts  undoubtedly  the 
most  notable  was  Gompertz,  a  young  ofidcer  of  the  loth 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  139 

Regiment,  which  came  to  Cannanore  in  1850.  Gom- 
pertz,  who  was  of  Jewish  parentage,  heard  Hebich 
preach,  and  good  impressions  that  had  been  left  on 
hearing  Bishop  Dealtry  were  confirmed,  and  his  resolu- 
tion strengthened  for  the  Christian  life.  After  that,  his 
■whole  heart  was  with  the  mission — he  devoted  all  his 
spare  time  to  aid  it.  Hebich's  biographer  may  well  head 
the  chapter  describing  him  as  "  a  worthy  son,"  for  he  was 
devoted  to  Hebich,  and  was  prepared  to  sacrifice  time, 
comfort,  and  money  for  his  sake.  The  chapter  on 
Gompertz  reads  like  a  passage  from  some  religious 
story. 

'*  To  that  of  his  words  he  added  the  testimony  of  a 
happy,  simple,  childlike  walk  —  not,  however,  lacking 
manly  firmness.  Even  unwilling  observers  were  taken 
with  it  His  comrades  would  say,  almost  peevishly, 
'  We  should  like  well  enough  to  be  like  you,  but  it 
is  not  so  easy  for  us.  With  you,  you  have  but  to  will, 
and  all  goes  smoothly.'  Yet  how  little  did  even  those 
■who  saw  most  of  him  really  know  him.  What  knew 
they  of  the  battles  won  in  the  secret  of  his  inmost 
heart?  of  the  yearning  desire  ever  to  stand  faithful 
and  pure  before  his  God,  that  he  might  ever  present 
himself  as  a  reasonable  sacrifice  to  his  God  ?  To 
such  as  were  truly  in  his  confidence,  he  often  confessed 
how  pained  he  ■was  at  his  own  inconsistent  walk : 
'Though  the  world  may  not  perceive  it,'  said  he,  *I 
see  it  every  minute  that  I  live.' 


140  SAMUEL  HEBICH. 

He  carefully  avoided  intruding  upon  what  appeared 
to  him  only  appropriate  work  for  those  regularly  in  the 
recognised  ministry  of  the  Church.  It  was  only  in  his 
later  years,  and  when  circumstances  seemed  specially  to 
point  it  out  to  him,  that  he  would  hold  meetings  for 
edification.  He  preferred  confining  himself  to  simple 
reading  of  the  Word  and  prayer.  In  familiar  conversa- 
tion, all  flowed  from  him  so  simply,  freshly,  and  affec- 
tionately, that  no  one  could  accuse  him  of  sermonising. 
If  others  had  so  much  to  say  about  horses  and  dogs, 
about  military  manoeuvres,  about  politics,  why  should  he 
have  nothing  to  say  about  that  one  subject  which  was 
of  the  greatest  importance  to  himself  and  to  his  hearers  ? 
He  seemed  by  a  special  instinct  to  find  those  who  were 
groping  towards  the  truth,  and  would  encourage  them 
onward  and  upward.  Many  a  one  will  thank  him 
through  eternity  that  he  so  patiently  and  perseveringly 
cared  for  his  soul.  An  officer,  who  began  his  military 
career  in  Cannanore,  writes,  *  I  can  truly  say  that 
I  never  met  an  officer  who  maintained  so  holy  and 
consistent  a  walk,  none  who  so  adorned  in  all  things 
the  doctrine  of  God  his  Saviour,  as  dear  Gompertz. 
Under  God,  he  was  the  means  of  bringing  me  to  a 
saving  knowledge  of  Jesus.  I  have  cause  to  thank  God, 
as  long  as  I  live,  that  I  ever  met  with  him.' " 

At  Maliapooram  Hebich  made  so  many  converts 
amongst  the  officers  and  men  of  the  39th  Madras  Native 
Infantry,  that  the  regiment  came  to  be  called  "  Hebich's 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  141 

Own."  Colonel  Budd,  Captain  Sweet,  and  Captains 
Kerr  and  Hart,  are  names  that  particularly  figure  in  the 
accounts  we  have  of  the  work.  In  reviewing  the  year, 
Hebich  whites — 

"This  year,  1853,  has  been  especially  fruitful  in  the 
conversion  of  officers  and  ladies,  and  perhaps  it  has  been 
the  most  remarkable  in  this  way  of  any  year  of  my 
ministry.  Some  were  won  to  the  Lord  only  on  their 
passage  through  the  place,  as,  for  instance,  a  lady 
passenger  in  the  ship  *  Owen  Glendower,'  while  the  ship 
lay  at  anchor  in  our  roads.  Then  a  lady  (Mrs.  S.)  was, 
with  her  daughters,  awakened  by  the  sudden  death  of 
her  husband.  The  reports,  too,  from  '  French  Rocks ' 
sound  well.  During  a  visitation  of  cholera  the  brethren 
engaged  one  of  our  people  to  preach  constantly  in  their 
own  chapel  and  in  the  streets,  so  as  to  take  advantage 
of  the  solemnising  impression  while  it  lasted.  Counting 
the  drummers,  there  are  thirty-eight  of  them,  and  all  in 
the  fervour  of  their  first  love." 

We  are  told  further  that  when  Bishop  Dealtry  visited 
French  Rocks  about  this  time  he  was  agreeably  surprised 
at  the  life  and  activity  he  found  prevailing  in  the  school. 
"  He  had  imbibed  no  little  prejudice  against  Hebich  and 
his  doings.  He  had  been  told  that  Hebich  called  the 
Church  of  England  a  '  Devil's  Church.'  (This  originated 
in  Hebich's  manner  of  characterising  as  '  the  Church 
Devil,'  that  spirit  which  he  found  in  so  many,  which, 
under  cover  of  a  certain  churchiness,  resisted  the  simple 


142  SAMUEL  HEBICH. 

following  of  Christ.)  Invited  to  the  mess  dinner,  the 
bishop  found  that,  spontaneously  and  quiet  naturally, 
the  conversation  took  a  religious  turn.  Even  those 
ofificers  ^'-ho  were  unconverted,  respectfully  gave  in  to 
the  prevailing  tone.  At  the  close  of  the  evening,  a 
Bible  was  laid  before  the  bishop,  with  the  request  that 
he  would  read  the  Scriptures  and  pray  with  them.  He 
asked  whether  this  was  always  done,  and  was  surprised 
to  learn  that  it  was  the  regular  custom.  With  a  beam- 
ing face,  he  exclaimed,  *  This  is  indeed  somethiq^  quite 
new  in  any  part  of  India.'  "  '  Jl/ 

At  length,  Hebich  found  Cannanore  in  such  a  condi- 
tion that  he  felt  free  to  devote  himself  to  itinerating. 
Travelling  from  place  to  place  he  found  to  be  exactly 
the  work  for  him.  All  the  rest  thought  the  same,  and 
Mogling  wrote  a  very  touching  letter,  expressing  his 
delight  that  Hebich  had  yielded  himself  completely  to 
this  mode  of  evangehstic  labour.  In  1856,  when  he  took 
a  retrospect  of  his  work,  this  he  records  as  his  own 
conviction.  But  he  had  to  acknowledge  at  the  same 
time  that  he  had  no  longer  the  abiUty  to  be  constantly 
on  the  move.  He  now  felt  often  weary  and  unstrung; 
so  that  after  each  journey,  rest  seemed  the  more 
welcome.  He  continued  to  persevere,  however;  and 
year  after  year  making  more  unmistakable  upon  him 
the  tokens  of  age  and  weakness. 

In  i860  he  had  to  acknowledge  that  he  was  waxing 
too  weak  for  work  in  India,  and  reluctantly  returned  to 


SAMUEL  HEBICH.  143 

Europe.  He  was  employed  for  some  time  preaching  to 
the  Germans  at  various  famous  watering-places,  and  was 
in  London  on  that  work  during  the  Exhibition  in  May 
1862.  Before  long,  he  found  that  even  this  told  too 
severely  upon  him  ;  he  elected  instead  to  receive  a  small 
pension,  and  to  be  free  to  preach  or  not  as  he  might  feel 
equal  to  it.  But  after  this  we  find  him  now  at  Stuttgart, 
now  in  the  Rhine  provinces,  and  again  in  Switzerland, 
where  he  never  grew  weary  of  proclaiming  Christ ;  and 
whenever  opportunity  offered,  he  would  urge  the  claims 
of  his  scheme  for  an  establishment  for  training  itinerant 
preachers  for  India  and  Africa,  collecting  considerable 
sums  by  this  means.  So  he  went  on,  ripening  day  by 
day,  like  a  shock  of  corn,  till  in  May  1868,  having  been 
seized  with  pain  in  the  liver,  he  passed  peacefully  away. 
As  his  mind  wandered  the  night  before  he  died,  he 
fancied  himself  still  preaching  to  the  Hindus. 

We  have  aimed  less  at  giving  an  exhaustive  and 
detailed  account  of  his  labours — which  indeed  was  im- 
possible in  our  space  —  than  at  conveying  to  the  reader 
some  idea  of  the  spirit  which  actuated  him.  In  this 
we  hope  we  have  so  far  succeeded.  He  was  bold, 
zealous,  single-minded  in  the  service  of  the  Master. 
Well  did  the  "  Madras  Times "  speak  of  him  even  in 
1844  as  "that  indefatigable  man,  who  by  his  affability 
makes  substantial  progress,"  for  his  great  idea  was  to 
be  as  one  of  the  people  to  win  some.  Like  William 
Burns,  and  one  or  two  other  great  missionary  pioneers, 


144  SAMUEL  HEBICH. 

he  liked  to  work  alone  rather  than  in  association,  and 
did  not  always  give  to  those  associated  with  him  the 
impression  of  running  smoothly  in  harness  with  them ; 
but  he  struggled  bravely  to  overcome  this  defect  And, 
as  has  been  said,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  he  was 
cold  and  ascetic  in  temperament.  He  was  the  very 
reverse ;  but  he  had  subdued  all  passions  and  impulses 
to  one  aim.  He  had  foregone  marriage,  not  because  he 
had  never  loved,  or  was  incapable  of  passionate  attach- 
ment— for  his  early  love-story  is  striking  in  that  respect 
— but  because  he  felt  that  for  him  and  for  his  work  the 
celibate  life  was  best.  Others  were  blessed  and  cheered 
with  the  thought  of  loved  ones  to  follow  them,  and  he 
never  looked  sourly  on  such  hopes — nay,  when  the 
hopes  had  become  realities,  he  accorded  to  the  wives  of 
his  fellow-workers  the  kindest  consideration  and  often 
tender  aid.  But  for  him,  he  was  wedded  to  one  service 
— to  preach  the  Gospel  was  the  one  duty  and  the  one 
call  of  life ;  and  his  biography  is  memorable  because  it 
shows  how  consistently  he  struggled,  and  how  near  he 
came  to  realise  his  ideal. 


{    r45    ) 


WILLIAM  ELMSLIE  AND   KASHMIR. 


IN  the  year  1840,  a  little  boy  of  eight  might  have 
been  seen  running  along  a  London  street,  with 
tears  in  his  eyes,  and  now  and  then  stopping  eagerly  to 
ask  a  passer-by  a  question.  His  Scotch  tongue  does  not 
help  him.  But  he  is  resolute  in  what  seems  a  hopeless 
quest,  and  does  not  give  over  because  of  one  or  two 
rebuffs.  At  length  one  man  listens  to  him  patiently, 
and  questions  him  with  care;  the  joyful  result  being 
that  he  is  directed  to  the  place  of  which  he  is  in  search. 
It  is  a  doctor's  house.  Both  father  and  mother — who 
had  only  recently  come  to  the  great  city  from  Aberdeen, 
and  are  consequently  strangers — have  fallen  ill  of  fever ; 
the  one  servant  girl  has  run  off  in  terror,  and  the  boy  is 
seeking  to  find  the  doctor  who  had  been  at  the  house 
before,  though  he  does  not  so  much  as  know  his  name. 
He  returns  successfully,  however ;  and  the  parents  are 
prescribed  for.  But  the  boy  himself  is  next  taken  ill, 
and,  only  after  terrible  trials,  do  the  little  family,  minus 
the  savings  they  had  taken  Londonward  with  them,  re- 


146  WILLIAM  ELMSLIE. 

turn  to  their  native  place.  This  incident  of  the  search 
for  the  doctor  indicates  a  great  amount  of  seriousness 
and  resolution  in  a  mere  child,  and  no  doubt  the  recol- 
lection of  it  had  also  its  own  effect.  At  all  events,  his 
after  life  was  so  wholly  in  keeping  with  it — so  full  of 
quiet  self-help,  self-consecration,  and  high  regard  for 
the  good  of  others — that  we  are  quite  sure  our  readers 
will  agree  that,  though  Dr.  Elmslie  died  ere  half  the 
tale  of  his  years,  he  deserves  to  rank  among  model 
missionaries. 

His  father  was  a  shoemaker,  and,  on  his  return  to 
Aberdeen  from  London  after  that  unfortunate  fever, 
seems  to  have  so  wholly  lost  heart,  that,  instead  of 
endeavouring  to  put  the  boy  to  school,  he  insisted  on 
his  being  set  down  beside  him,  while  still  only  nine,  to 
learn  his  trade.  The  mother,  however,  saw  in  her  boy 
some  promise  of  talent,  and  encouraged  him  so  far  as 
she  could  in  his  aspirations  after  learning.  **  She  often 
read  aloud  to  him,  and  got  others  to  read,  and  in  the 
evenings  young  friends  frequently  gave  him  a  share  of 
what  they  were  picking  up  at  school."  But  he  was 
determined  that  he  would  not  disappoint  his  father's 
hopes,  and  soon  became  so  expert  at  his  craft  that  "  he 
was  able  to  turn  out  a  greater  quantity  of  first-rate  work, 
in  a  given  time,  than  almost  any  competitor."  Gradu- 
ally he  thus  secured  not  only  a  little  leisure,  but  a  little 
money,  wherewith  to  purchase  books  or  to  borrow  them ; 
and  the  more  he  read,  the  more  strengthened  he  became 


WILLIAM  ELMSLTE.  147 

in  the  resolve  to  get  through  a  course  at  college.  In 
1848  he  was  successful  in  being  entered  as  a  pupil  at  the 
Grammar  School  of  Aberdeen  under  that  Arnold  of  the 
North,  Dr.  Melvin,  of  whom,  like  so  many  others,  he 
never  ceased  to  think  save  with  gratitude  and  reverence. 
Here  he  attended  for  four  sessions,  all  the  time  helping 
his  father  in  his  work.  "  He  used  to  fix  his  book  in  the 
'clambs'  (an  instrument  employed  for  holding  the 
leather),  and  placing  these  conveniently  in  front  of  him, 
he  learned  to  pick  up  right  quickly  a  sentence  from 
Zumpt,  or  a  line  from  Homer,  or  any  other  book,  and 
thus  he  stitched  and  studied  for  long  weary  years." 

In  November  1853  he  became  a  student  of  King's 
College,  Aberdeen.  But  it  must  not  be  supposed  he 
was  yet  free  from  arduous  labour  for  bread.  His  father 
grew  feebler,  and  the  more  responsibility  fell  on  him  to 
provide  for  the  household.  A  companion  of  these  days 
tells  us — 

*'  William's  work  was  harder  than  mine,  for  his  father's 
failing  health  and  eyesight  made  him  now  more  and 
more  dependent  on  his  son's  exertions.  On  this  account 
he  undertook  an  engagement  to  teach  in  a  school  in 
Aberdeen,  and  he  had  also  several  private  pupils.  We 
were  students  of  the  same  year,  and  I  shared  the  room 
with  him  in  his  parents'  house.  We  both  worked  hard. 
It  was  no  unusual  thing  for  us  to  restrict  ourselves  to 
five  hours'  sleep.  We  engaged  a  watchman  to  waken  us 
at  three  o'clock  every  morning,  and  we  took  it  in  turns 


148  WILLIAM  ELMSLIE. 

to  rise  first,  kindle  the  fire  and  boil  the  coffee,  which 
Mrs.  Elmslie  had  made  ready  the  night  before." 

In  spite  of  the  varied  drawbacks  of  the  position  and 
attacks  of  ill  health  brought  on  by  severe  application,  he 
was  so  successful  in  his  studies  that  "  before  he  had 
reached  the  end  of  his  Arts'  course  he  had  gained  five 
prizes  in  various  classes,"  Aspiration  and  a  sense  of 
duty  seem  reconciled  in  this  young  worker  j  he  will 
mark  out  a  course  for  himself,  but  without  doing  despite 
to  the  claims  of  those  near  to  him.  Perhaps  this  would 
not  have  been  possible  if,  along  with  all,  there  had  not 
gone  the  elevating  and  hallowing  influences  of  religion. 
Each  morning  the  young,  toilsome  students  knelt  down 
together,  and  besought  God's  blessing  on  the  day  and 
its  work  ;  and  though,  in  moments  of  illness,  doubts 
sometimes  visited  Elmslie,  they  never  long  abode  with 
him. 

Having  taken  his  degree  in  arts,  William  Elmslie 
went  to  Italy  as  a  tutor,  and  thus  saw  a  little  of  the 
world,  taking  now  and  then  the  English  service  for  those 
with  whom  he  had  become  friendly  in  the  course  of  his 
travels.  His  intention  up  till  this  time  had  been  to 
study  for  the  ministry,  and  on  his  return  he  competed  for 
and  won  a  bursary,  which  enabled  him  to  enter  the  Free 
Church  Divinity  College.  But  during  this  first  session 
there  his  attention  was  drawn  to  the  mission-field,  and  a 
consideration  of  the  place  which  heaUng  had  held  in  the 
pl^inting  of  Christianity,  led  him  to  resolve  to  become 


WILLIAM  ELMSLIE.  149 

a  medical   missionary.     This   seemed  merely   courting 
difficulties,  and  so  some  of  his  best  friends  viewed  it. 

"  To  face  four  years  of  study,  with  winter  and  summer 
courses,  besides  the  heavy  expense  of  a  medical  educa- 
tion, seemed  madness  to  his  friends,  and  they  vehemently 
opposed  him  in  his  resolution  ;  but  hitherto  the  Lord 
had  helped  him,  and  to  be  a  workman  thoroughly 
furnished  for  the  Master's  service  seemed  to  him  worth 
any  amount  of  effort  and  self-denial.  Accordingly  he 
braced  himself  up  to  his  work.  Again  he  taught  in  the 
Academy,  received  private  pupils,  stitched  the  *  uppers ' 
of  boots  and  shoes,  and  pored  over  his  books.  Sixteen 
hours  of  work  daily  was  the  rule  in  those  busy  years, 
study  was  a  relaxation  rather  than  anything  else.  Long- 
continued  custom  had  begotten  a  love  for  it,  and 
obstacles  seemed  to  add  a  certain  zest  to  his  pursuit  of 
knowledge.  But  during  this  preparation  period  there 
were  seasons  when  the  cares  of  poverty  pressed  heavily ; 
and  faith,  hope,  and  patience  required  to  be  in  fullest 
exercise." 

Thus,  in  face  of  difficulties  which  would  have  pro- 
strated most  men,  he  managed  to  get  to  the  last  year  of 
his  medical  course,  and  the  Medical  Missionary  Society 
of  Edinburgh,  having  already  relaxed  its  rule  and  given 
him,  though  studying  in  another  city,  a  grant-in-aid  of 
;^i5,  he  came  south  to  be  an  inmate  of  their  Home  in 
the  Dispensary  in  1862,  The  present  writer  has  cause 
to  look  gratefully  back  to  that  old  Dispensary  in  the 


I50  WILLIAM  ELMSLJE. 

Cowgate.  Dim  and  dingy,  and  far  from  brilliant  in  itself, 
yet  light  went  out  from  it,  and  often  transfigured  the 
moral  gloom  that  reigned  around.  He  had  friends 
among  the  students  of  certain  years  there,  and  has 
accompanied  them  sometimes  in  their  rounds  up  the 
long,  dark,  winding  stone  stairs,  where  aforetime  gay 
feet  only  trod,  but  now  trodden  only  by  the  most  mean 
and  miserable.  At  these  times  he  has  seen  instances  of 
tender  devotion  and  quiet  and  homely  heroism,  such  as 
in  his  mind  atone  for  nearly  all  the  recklessness  and  vice 
charged  against  medical  students  as  a  class.  In  a  school 
like  this  such  an  one  as  William  Elmslie  could  not  but 
profit,  and  we  can  well  believe  that  in  the  '*  household 
visitation  of  his  patients  he  soon  became  a  great 
favourite,"  no  less  than  with  the  class  of  boys  whom  he 
had  gathered  round  him  from  the  lowest  quarters  for 
religious  instruction,  and  whom  at  first  he  found  rather 
unruly.  Various  circumstances  led  to  his  remaining 
an  extra  year  in  Edinburgh,  but  in  August  1864  he 
successfully  took  his  medical  degrees  there ;  and  soon 
afterwards,  notwithstanding  that  he  was  a  Presbyterian, 
he  was  appointed  a  lay  agent  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  at  Kashmir.  He  sailed  for  India  in  the  ship 
"Poonah"  in  September  1864,  and  landed  at  Calcutta 
on  the  28th  October,  having  got  a  glimpse  of  Egypt  and 
of  Malta  en  voyage ;  but  what  is  yet  better,  having  minis- 
tered spiritual  comfort  to  his  fellow-passengers,  especially 
to  a  young  Dutch  lady,  left  at  Malta  too  ill  to  go  farther. 


WILLIAM  ELMSLIE.  151 

After  a  short  time  spent  at  Calcutta  with  Mr. 
Vaugh.in,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  and  Dr. 
Robson,  Free  Church  medical  missionary,  he  proceeded 
to  Lahore,  where  it  was  arranged  he  should  remain  some 
time  before  proceeding  to  Kashmir.  This  was  advisable, 
both  on  account  of  the  study  of  the  language,  and  the 
fact  that,  for  a  certain  portion  of  the  year,  the  mission- 
aries could  not  remain  in  Kashmir.  He  immediately 
took  a  class  in  Mr.  Forman's  school,  and  busied  himself 
in  other  Christian  works.  He  writes  home  to  his 
mother — 

"  How  I  long  to  see  hills  !  This  country  of  India  is 
just  a  dead  level — as  smooth  as  the  table  of  your  best 
room.  When  journeying  from  Calcutta,  I  saw  some 
hills,  though  diminutive  ones ;  my  heart  was  gladdened 
within  me,  they  reminded  me  so  much  of  Deeside. 
.  .  .  I  shall  soon  see  higher  mountains  than  you  or  I 
have  ever  yet  beheld — the  great  Himalayas,  in  the 
midst  of  which  lies  cradled  my  future  home,  or  per- 
haps I  should  say  my  field  of  work.  The  books  which 
I  find  give  one  the  most  interesting  information  are 
Jacquemont's  Travels,  Moorcroft's,  and  Vigne's  ditto. 
If  God  spare  me,  I  purpose  writing  a  book  more  com- 
prehensive than  any  of  them,  as  I  shall  have  valuable 
opportunities  for  gathering  information  if  spared  to 
remain  for  a  sufficient  time  in  the  valley.  .  .  .  You 
would  laugh  many  a  time,  dear  mother,  at  the  significant 
looks  and  smiles  of  my  little  brown-faced  charge  at  the 


1 52  WILLIAM  ELMS  LIE, 

mission  school,  when  I  attempt  to  launch  out,  and  make 
blunders  in  the  language  in  so  doing.  I  never  mind, 
but  hold  on  my  way,  for  some  direct  mission-work  I 
must  do,  however  feebly.  When  I  go  to  Kashmir  I 
shall  have  a  new  language  to  learn,  and  it  will  be  much 
more  difficult  to  acqaire,  because  there  are  no  grammars 
or  dictionaries  in  Kashmiri.  Those  I  must  make  for 
myself,  and  I  have  already  done  something  towards  this 
work" 

It  was  proposed  that  he  should  go  to  Kashmir  along 
with  the  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  who  was  to  spend  a  month 
in  the  valley  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  but  he  was 
afraid  that  were  he  to  reach  his  destination  in  company 
with  one  on  whom  the  natives  looked  as  a  high  public 
functionary,  this  might  lead  to  their  regarding  him  also 
as  a  servant  of  the  Government.  He  therefore  set  forth 
alone.  The  romantic  ideas  we  might  associate  with 
the  name  of  Kashmir  somewhat  vanish  on  contact  with 
the  people.  The  country,  a  succession  of  vales  opening 
out  from  a  greater  vale  into  each  other,  and  ever  un- 
folding new  attractions,  is  a  panorama  of  beauty ;  but 
the  people  are  miserable,  chiefly  through  the  excessive 
exaction  and  tyranny  of  the  native  rulers,  to  whom  it 
was  turned  over  by  England  at  the  time  of  the  Sikh  war. 
"  At  one  swoop  half  of  every  man's  produce  goes  into  the 
Government  treasury.  Half  of  everything,  not  merely 
of  his  grain,  but  even  of  the  produce  of  his  cattle,  or 
whatever  he  has ;  so  that  from  each  cow  he  must  give 


WILLIAM  ELMSLIE.  153 

every  second  year  a  calf  to  Government,  and  from 
every  half  dozen  of  his  chickens  three  to  the  all- 
devouring  Sirkar.  More  than  this  even,  his  very  fruit- 
trees  are  watched  by  Government,  and  half  taken  for 
the  Maharajah." 

Mr.  Grant  Duff,  in  his  account  of  a  tour  in  Kashmir, 
thus  sketches  the  beauty  of  the  country: — "Jummoo 
is,  as  you  know,  the  winter  capital  of  the  Maha- 
rajah, whose  territory  extends  over  some  25,000  square 
miles — is,  therefore,  about  the  size  of  Scotland,  less  the 
counties  of  Perth  and  Inverness.  The  famous  shawls 
are  chiefly  made  in  the  neighbourhood  of  his  summer 
capital  Srinigar,  the  chief  town  of  the  vale  of  Kashmir, 
which  is  separated  from  Jummoo  by  about  1 25  miles  of 
mountain.  We  dined,  of  course,  by  ourselves,  but  from 
time  to  time  the  Maharajah  sent  us  native  dishes,  some 
of  which  were  excellent.  Then  we  had  fireworks.  The 
night  was  perfectly  still  and  very  propitious  to  them. 
Seven  fire  balloons  floated  high  in  the  air,  and  got  ex- 
actly into  the  position  of  the  Great  Bear  and  the  Polestar. 
I  called  the  attention  of  one  of  my  companions  to  this, 
who,  pointing  it  out  to  the  Maharajah,  said,  '  It  is  only 
your  Highness  who  can  add  to  the  number  of  the  con- 
stellations.' When  the  fireworks  were  over,  we  took 
our  leave,  and  very  picturesque  was  the  ride  home  under 
the  crescent  moon,  through  the  dark  silent  streets,  with 
our  attendants  clamouring  in  front  to  drive  the  sacred 
bulls  and  camels  out  of  the  way.     This  morning  we 


154  WILLIAM  ELMSLIE. 

Started  soon  after  sunrise,  accompanied  by  the  son  of 
Kirpa  Ram  and  others.  Just  as  we  came  in  sight, 
through  the  city  gate,  of  the  woodland  which  I  de- 
scribed yesterday,  the  troops  presented  arms,  and  the 
band  struck  up  'God  save  the  Queen.'  Then  we 
slowly  descended  the  steep  declivity  on  which  Jummoo 

is  built.     As  we  were  crossing  the  river,  General  B 

called  out  to  me,  '  It  would  take  a  fine  reach  of  the 
Rhine  to  beat  this,'  and  so  it  would.  Some  half  an 
hour  passed,  however,  before  we  saw  the  full  glories  of 
Jummoo.  We  had  crossed  most  of  the  woodland,  and 
had  descended  from  our  elephants,  when  we  reached  a 
point  where,  in  the  clearer  morning,  the  mountains 
stood  out  in  all  their  beauty.  On  the  left  stretched  the 
mighty  snowy  chain  of  the  Pir  Punjal — rising,  I  suppose, 
to  about  17,000  or  18,000  feet.  Then,  in  the  middle 
of  the  background,  came  an  outer  range,  not  snowy, 
somewhat  lower  than  Taygetus,  and  rather  like  it; 
lastly,  far  to  the  right,  another  snowy  range  on  the 
borders  of  Thibet.  Between  us  and  the  mountains  lay 
Jummoo,  with  its  white  pyramidal  temples  shining  in 
the  sun,  and  surrounded  by  a  near  landscape  which 
wanted  nothing  to  make  it  perfect.  It  was  the  most 
beautiful  land  view  I  ever  beheld.  The  Maharajah  is  a 
lucky  man,  with  heaven  for  his  winter  and  the  seventh 
heaven  for  his  summer  capital." 

But  here,  as  in  many  other  of  nature's  most  favoured 
spots,  the  poet's  words  come  to  the  mind,  "  Man  alone 


%vrLLIAM  ELMSLIE.  1 5 5 

•is  vile."  The  Maharajah  may  be  a  good  host,  as  Mr. 
Grant  Duff  would  seem  to  have  found  him ;  but  he  is 
hardly  a  good  ruler.  Not  only  are  the  poor  people 
overburdened  by  the  heavy  taxation,  but  large  sections 
of  the  industrial  population  are  little  less  than  slaves. 
Laws  have  been  passed  which  prohibit  them  from  mov- 
ing from  place  to  place ;  and  the  sanitary  conditions  of 
the  towns  are  of  the  very  worst.  We  read  in  a  good 
authority :  *'  The  shawl-weavers  get  miserable  wages, 
and  are  allowed  neither  to  leave  Kashmir  nor  change 
their  employment,  so  that  they  are  nearly  in  the  position 
of  slaves ;  and  their  average  wage  is  only  about  three- 
halfpence  a-day." 

It  is  only  to  be  expected  that,  among  such  a  com- 
munity there  should  be  much  ignorance  and  vice  and 
suffering.  Of  the  four  hundred  thousand  Kashmiris, 
five-sixths  are  Mussulmans,  and  the  other  sixth  Hindus. 
Diseases  of  various  kinds  are  rife,  some  of  them  arising 
from  the  exceedingly  filthy  habits  of  the  people.  Very  little 
had  been  done  for  them  prior  to  Dr.  Elmslie's  arrival. 
The  Rev.  W.  Smith  of  Benares,  and  the  Rev.  R.  Clark, 
of  Peshawur,  had  visited  Kashmir  in  the  spring  of 
1863;  but  Mr.  Smith  returned  to  his  own  station, 
and  Mr.  Clark,  after  a  brave  attempt  to  remain  over 
the  winter,  and  after  his  wife  had  established  a  dis- 
pensary, was  compelled  by  the  authorities  to  leave* 
Dr.  Elmslie  took  with  him  from  Lahore  two  promising 
boys    from    the    missionary   orphanage    there,    and    a 


156  WILLIAM  ELMSLIE. 

Kashmiri  catechist,  Qadir  Bakhsh.  At  each  town  or 
village  on  the  way,  intimation  was  made  that  a  doctor 
had  come  who  would  be  happy  to  see  and  treat  all 
the  sick  people ;  and  when  they  were  gathered  together 
Qadir  read  the  Scriptures  to  them,  and  addressed  them 
simply  and  suitably  before  the  examination  was  begun. 
So  by  Chikote  and  Uri  our  missionary  journeys  on, 
catching  sight  of  Srinigar,  the  summer  capital,  on  the 
4th  of  May.  He  finds  a  suitable  bungalow  after  some 
difficulty,  and,  losing  no  time,  on  the  9th  opens  his 
dispensary;  then  he  institutes  the  Saturday  itineration 
among  the  neighbouring  villages,  and  begins  a  system 
of  visiting  and  tract-distributing  in  the  city.  On  the 
1 6th  he  has  as  many  as  thirty  patients,  mostly  Sepoys, 
which  makes  him  fear  the  Kashmiris  will  thus  be  kept 
away.  On  the  24th  the  British  Resident  calls  and 
plainly  tells  Dr.  Elmslie  not  to  ask  or  to  expect  any 
support  from  him.  On  the  30th  the  patients  have 
increased  to  fifty-three,  seventeen  of  them  being 
women.  False  reports  that  Qadir,  in  his  addresses, 
had  spoken  evil  of  the  Maharajah,  leads  the  British 
Resident  to  request  that  Dr.  Elmslie  desist  from 
itinerating ;  but  he  will  not  do  more  than  promise 
not  for  a  season  to  return  to  Hazrat  Bal,  whence  the 
false  report  had  come.  On  the  31st  of  May  a  small 
hospital,  with  five  beds,  is  opened,  and  has  ere  long 
some  cases ;  persons  of  influence  and  in  official  position 
begin  to  take  advantage  of  the  missionary's  skill,  and 


WILLIAM  ELMSLIE.  157 

the  feeling  begins  to  grow  among  the  Kashmiris  that 
the  medical  mission  is  a  great  boon  and  blessing, 
though  as  yet  there  is  no  token  whatever  of  spiritual 
good.  Especially  are  his  surgical  cases  successful, 
though  "in  operating  my  difficulties  are  legion,  having 
no  one  to  assist  me."  In  midst  of  this  it  must  have 
been  very  disheartening  to  learn  that  the  Sepoys  and 
people  had  been  prohibited  from  coming  to  him,  and 
that  a  watch  had  actually  been  set  upon  his  movements. 
So,  amid  mingled  joy  and  pain,  he  got  through  his 
first  season,  the  circumstances  of  which  we  have 
already  spoken  making  it  needful  for  him  to  remove  to 
Amritsar,  where  he  worked  as  hard,  opeiiing  classes  in 
chemistry,  &c.,  and  staying  from  October  1865  till 
April  1866. 

His  second  year's  work  in  Kashmir  was  marked 
by  great  progress — the  number  of  patients  largely 
increased,  and  in  a  few  cases  there  were  hopes  of 
religious  impressions  having  been  made.  Even  the 
Maharajah  now  began  to  send  his  Sepoys  suffering 
from  diseases  which  required  surgical  operations.  An 
offer  was  actually  made  to  Dr.  Elmslie  of  a  thousand 
rupees  a  month  if  he  would  enter  the  Maharajah's 
service,  and  give  up  the  mission  element  in  his  work 
To  this,  of  course,  he  would  not  listen  !  and,  in  chagrin, 
the  Maharajah  again  placed  Sepoys  at  the  different 
avenues  leading  to  his  house  to  prevent  the  people 
from  coming.     About  this  time,   the  mission  lost  the 


158  WILLIAM  ELMSLIE. 

little  it  had  through  the  failure  of  the  Agra  Bank; 
but  Sir  John  [later  Lord]  Lawrence,  the  Governor- 
General,  sent  two  hundred  rupees,  and  assistance  came 
from  other  quarters.     Dr.  Elmslie  writes — 

"You  will  be  happy  to  hear  that,  in  a  medical  point 
of  view,  at  least,  my  work  in  Kashmir  is  prospering. 
In  spite  of  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  local  authori- 
ties, the  work  continues  to  progress.  A  few  days  ago 
I  had  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  eighty-three  patients, 
and  at  this  moment  a  fine-looking,  elderly  Mussulman 
of  rank,  from  the  east  end  of  the  valley,  has  called 
to  ask  my  advice.  Many  of  my  patients  come  from 
a  great  distance;  and  never  a  day  passes  without  one 
or  two  surgical  operations.  The  result  is,  that  I  am 
becoming  more  and  more  expert  in  this  department. 
At  present  three  men  are  living  in  my  tent  who  were 
totally  blind,  but  now  they  see.  As  to  spiritual  fruit, 
I  wish  I  had  something  more  definite  to  say." 

The  Rajah  of  Chamba — a  territory  lying  to  the 
south-east  of  Kashmir — having  made  an  offer  of  two 
hundred  rupees  a  month,  free  house,  dispensary,  and 
hospital  buildings.  Dr.  Elmslie  resolved  to  go  there 
during  the  ensuing  cold  season.  Here  a  great  work 
was  also  begun  and  successfully  carried  on,  notwith- 
standing that  difficulties  arose  with  respect  to  the 
complete  freedom  of  operation  that  had  been  promised 
by  the  Rajah.  At  the  close  of  the  season  Dr.  Elmslie 
writes — 


WILLIAM  ELMS  LIE.  1 59 

"The  Rajah  is  most  favourably  disposed  towards 
the  mission,  so  that  my  stay  here  has  been  extremely 
pleasant,  although  not  free  from  difficulty.  I  have 
had  some  of  the  most  serious  operations  to.  perform, 
and  God,  up  to  this  time,  has  made  all  things  go  well 
with  me  in  this  respect.  Two  men  who  have  been 
attending  the  dispensary  for  some  time,  called  on  me 
to-day  privately  to  speak  about  the  wonderful  story 
of  the  cross.     I  have  great  hope  of  them." 

The  work  of  the  third  year  went  on  in  face  of 
unusual  opposition,  and  was  ominously  varied  by  an 
outbreak  of  cholera  both  among  the  civil  community 
and  the  troops,  and  though  Dr.  Elmslie's  offers  of  ser- 
vice were  at  first  declined,  he  ultimately  found  ways 
of  being  useful  and  of  extending  his  influence.  At 
last  it  was  deemed  needful  to  draw  a  cordon  sanataire 
round  the  European  quarters,  and,  as  the  dispensary 
was  situated  there,  it  put  a  stop  to  the  work.  *'  When 
it  was  intimated  to  the  suffering  and  sick  that  they 
were  not  to  return  to  the  dispensary  until  they  should 
receive  intimation  to  do  so,  the  scene  can  be  more 
easily  fancied  than  described.  It  would  have  melted 
a  heart  of  stone."  This  only  set  the  doctor  free  to 
visit  among  the  cholera-stricken  and  others. 

On  the  approach  of  cold  weather  Dr.  Elmslie  paid 
a  visit  to  Calcutta;  but  in  the  beginning  of  January 
1868,  we  find  him  back  in  Amritsar,  working  hard 
in  the  dispensary  there.     Then,  at  the  wonted  season, 


i6o  WILLIAM  ELMS  LIE. 

he  is  once  more  in  Srinigar,  where  the  common  people 
throng  to  him  in  greater  numbers  than  ever ;  no  opposi- 
tion is  now  offered  him,  and  no  fewer  than  two  thousand 
patients  are  treated  in  two  months,  and  the  fifth  year 
fitly  continued  the  work.     In  the  early  part  of  1870, 
Dr.    ElmsHe   returned  home  for  a  brief  furlough,  but 
his  heart  was  bound  up  in  Kashmir.     He  worked  so 
laboriously  at  the  compiling  of  a  Kashmir  vocabulary, 
as  to  bring  on  an  illness,  from  which  he  never  com- 
pletely rallied.     He  returned  to  India   along  with  his 
newly-wedded   wife    in    1872,    and   resumed   his   work 
full   of  hope.     But  his  old  disease  ere  long  returned 
to  him,  and,  though  he  stuck  to  his  post  bravely,  he 
was   compelled   at   length   to  start  for  Madras.     It  is 
said  that  the  Maharajah   had   never   forgiven   him   for 
some  strictures  on  the  Government  procedure  during 
that  cholera  epidemic,  and  was  not  sorry  to  see  him 
go.      Mr.  Andrew  Wilson  even  hints   that  his   grudge 
against   the   missionary  took  more   active  shape.     He 
writes  thus — 

"  Dr.  Elmslie  was  a  devoted  medical  missionary,  who 
did  an  immense  amount  of  good  in  Kashmir,  and 
had  published  a  valuable  vocabulary  of  the  Kashmiri 
language ;  but  he  had  also  published  letters  complain- 
ing of  the  carelessness  of  the  Government  in  regard 
to  a  visitation  of  cholera  which  had  carried  off  large 
numbers  of  the  people,  and  pointing  out  that  sanitary 
measures  might  save  the  lives  of  thousands  every  year 


WILLIAM  ELMSLIE.  i6\ 

from  smallpox  and  other  diseases.  The  Srinigar 
rumour  was  that  his  servants  had  been  offered  so 
much  to  poison  him  within  the  Kashmir  territory,  and 
so  much  more  if  they  would  do  so  after  he  got  beyond. 
Unfortunately  Dr.  Elmslie,  like  Lieutenant  Thorpe,  died 
rather  suddenly  shortly  after  he  had  got  beyond  the 
Kashmir  borders,  and,  it  seems,  also  of  heart  disease." 

However  it  may  be  with  respect  to  the  attitude  of 
the  Maharajah  at  the  last,  Dr.  Elmslie  passed  away  at 
the  early  age  of  forty,  on  the  i8th  of  November  1872. 

His  patience,  prudence,  and  tact — formed  as  they 
had  been  among  early  trials  of  no  ordinary  kind — 
combined  with  his  independent  judgment,  engaging 
manners,  and  his  depth  of  sincerity,  made  him  a 
missionary  of  a  high  order.  In  the  course  of  his 
biography,  we  get  many  hints  of  his  capacity  to  take 
broad  and  comprehensive  views,  as  witness  his  remarks 
on  the  training  of  native  medical  missionaries,  and  on 
the  desirability  of  the  medical  missionary  not  receiving 
wages  from  a  heathen  prince,  as,  among  a  heathen 
people,  the  credit  of  what  he  does  will  then  go  to 
heathenism  and  not  to  Christianity.  Altogether  a 
brave  and  beautiful  character,  that  under  such  diffi- 
culties as  in  most  cases  would  only  embitter  and  harden, 
grew  more  pure,  sensitive,  and  self-denying,  William 
Elmslie  may  be  said  to  have  died  for  Kashmir  as  he 
lived  for  it ;  so  that  there  will  be  a  peculiar  fitness  in 
the  "  Elmslie  Hospital   and   Dispensary "   at    Srinigar, 


^62  WILLIAM  ELMSLIE. 

the  shape  which  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Calcutta  suggested 
that  the  memorial  proposed  by  a  conference  of  mis- 
sionaries in  the  Punjaub  should  most  fitly  take.  "  The 
name  of  William  Elmslie,  endeared  as  it  is  to  the  present 
generation  of  Kashmiris,  may  thus  be  permanently 
associated  with  the  great  work  which  he  has  been 
mstiumental  in  beginning." 


Master  Missionaries.  P- 1®'- 


(    163    ) 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER  AND 
THE  CONVICTS. 


I. 

VOLTAIRE'S  visit  to  the  country  residence  of 
Andrew  Pitt,  a  retired  Quaker  merchant  of 
London,  is  a  notable  incident  in  the  Ufe  of  a  remark- 
able man,  and  in  the  history  of  a  remarkable  sect.  Its 
object  was  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  by  which  the  keenest 
intellect  of  the  age  had  become  possessed  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  Quaker  religion.  Its  result  was  that 
Cowper's  "  brilliant  Frenchman  "  was  almost  persuaded 
to  be  a  Quaker,  and  that  Howard's  "favourite  sect"  was 
for  once  described  from  without,  almost  as  if  by  the 
pen  of  a  Christian. 

"  My  dear  sir,  are  you  baptized  ?  "  was  the  first  ques- 
tion which  Friend  Pitt  was  expected  to  answer — it  was 
the  question  which  good  Catholics  were  accustomed  to 
put  to  the  Huguenots.  His  reply  was,  of  course,  nega- 
tive. "  What  ?  morbleu  !  "  Voltaire  asked,  "  are  you 
not  Christians  then  ?  "     "  My  friend,"  answered  Andrew, 


i64  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

**  swear  not ;  we  are  Christians,  but  we  don't  think  that 
Christianity  consists  in  throwing  water  and  a  little  salt 
on  an  infant's  head."  "  Have  you  forgotten  that  Christ 
was  baptized  ?  "  inquired  Voltaire.  "  Christ,"  replied 
Andrew,  "  received  baptism  from  John,  but  He  never 
administered  baptism.  We  are  not  disciples  of  John, 
but  of  Christ."  "  How  about  the  Sacraments  ?  "  was  the 
next  article  of  the  sceptic's  catechism.  "  We  have 
none,"  was  the  Quaker's  response ;  and  on  this  head  he 
referred  to  Barclay's  "  Apology "  for  the  sect,  which  he 
declared  was  one  of  the  best  books  that  ever  came  from 
the  hand  of  man,  and  was  shown  to  be  excellent  by  the 
fact  that  their  enemies  agreed  that  it  was  dangerous. 
An  allusion  to  Barclay  naturally  led  Andrew  to  offer 
his  own  apology  for  the  Friends.  He  excused  himself 
from  responding  to  his  polite  visitor's  bows  and  compli- 
ments without  taking  off  his  broad  brim.  He  explained 
the  literal  and  spiritual  significance  of  the  Quaker  use  of 
the  second  personal  pronoun  singular.  He  had  some 
remarks  to  make  about  Quaker  dress.  He  expounded 
the  objections  of  the  Friends  to  the  use  of  oaths  and 
their  opposition  to  war,  being  careful  to  state  that  this 
latter  peculiarity  was  not  due  to  any  deficiency  of 
courage,  but  to  a  becoming  recollection  of  the  fact,  "We 
are  neither  wolves,  nor  tigers,  nor  dogs,  but  men,  but 
Christians." 

After  attending  a  First  Day  meeting  of  the  Friends 
at  their  "  church ''  near  the   Monument,  Voltaire   had 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  V/ALKER.  165 

some  more  questions  to  propound,  in  reply  to  which  he 
obtained  information  as  to  the  pecuUar  forms  of  worship 
approved  by  the  sect,  as  to  their  rejection  of  "  new  pres- 
byter and  old  priest,"  and  as  to  their  doctrine  of  the 
inward  light — a  doctrine  of  which  it  seemed  to  him  that 
he  had  heard  before,  and  with  reference  to  which  he 
exclaimed,  "  Voilk  le  pere  Malebranche  tout  pur." 

Thus  interrogated  in  the  person  of  Andrew  Pitt  before 
a  friendly  inquisition,  the  Society  of  Friends  gave  an 
account  of  itself  in  which  all  its  well-known  character- 
istics are  to  be  seen  at  a  glance.  One  thing  only  was 
overlooked,  but  that  was  more  important  than  every- 
thing else,  viz.,  the  fact  that  among  Christian  sects  the 
sect  of  the  Quakers  is  eminently  Christian,  at  any  rate  in 
its  practice.  It  did  not  occur  to  Voltaire  that  there  was 
anything  to  be  gained  by  pursuing  the  line  of  inquiry 
which  was  started  in  the  question,  "  Are  you  not  Chris- 
tians, then  ? "  and  thus,  whilst  it  did  not  escape  his 
notice  that  Andrew  Pitt's  pocket-flaps  were  superfluously 
ample,  he  missed  the  discovery  in  regard  to  the  Quaker's 
religion,  that  its  genius,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
history,  is  displayed  rather  in  the  clothing  of  the  naked 
than  in  wearing  of  phylacteries. 

No  sect  has  ever  identified  itself  with  purely  philan- 
thropic causes  in  the  way  in  which  the  Quakers  have 
been  associated  with  Anti-Slavery,  Abolition  of  Wars, 
Prison  Reform,  Treatment  of  the  Insane.  It  is  alleged 
that   the   Scciefy  has  seen   its   best  days ;  that  it  now 


i66  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER, 

shows  signs  of  decrepitude  and  decay,  at  any  rate,  in 
England.  Some  years  ago  prizes  were  offered  for  an 
essay  on  the  subject  of  the  numerical  decHne  of  the 
Friends,  and  it  would  seem  probable  that  the  competitors 
for  those  prizes  might  have  assumed  it  to  be  a  fact  that 
the  prosperity  of  the  sect  is  on  the  wane  in  this  country. 
If  this  be  so,  the  whole  history  of  the  fraternity,  its  rise 
and  progress,  and  now  its  decline  and  fall,  may,  perhaps, 
be  justly  said  to  turn  upon  the  peculiarity  of  the  Quaker 
religion,  which  escaped  the  notice  of  Voltaire,  and  which 
made  Quakers  "  the  favourite  sect "  of  John  Howard. 
Verily,  the  latter  end  of  the  peacemakers  is  peace.  The 
Quakers  have  now  no  enemies,  unless  possibly  it  be 
among  themselves.  If  the  Quaker  society  is  doomed, 
the  reason  is  not,  perhaps,  so  much  that  a  great  deal  of 
its  earlier  testimony  is  now  growing  antiquated,  as  that 
its  one  great  testimony,  that  which  it  has  borne  to  the 
truth,  that  Christianity  means  peace  on  earth,  good-will 
among  men,  has  been  superannuated  by  being  generally 
accepted.  If  it  be  true  that  it  is  time  now  for  the 
Society  to  which  Elizabeth  Fry  belonged  to  chant  its 
"  Nunc  dimittis,"  it  is  because  it  has  seen  the  salvation 
of  God  arrive  in  the  form  of  all  Christian  sects  learning 
to  make  some  profession  of  that  philanthropy  which 
was  long  the  glory  of  one.  History  will  probably  record, 
with  regard  to  the  Society  of  Friends,  almost  alone 
among  Christians  sects,  not  that  it  outlived  its  influence 
and  then  died  hard,  but  that  it  lived  till  the  principles 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  167 

for  which  it  contended  ceased  to  be  those  of  a  sect  or  a 
party,  and  then,  at  peace  with  the  world  which  it  had 
conquered  and  blessed,  gave  up  the  ghost. 

The  Quakers,  in  the  course  of  a  unique  career  of 
beneficence,  have  had  much  to  do  with  convicts.  Those 
meekest  of  the  meek  of  the  Christian  world  who,  when 
they  are  smitten  by  an  enemy  on  the  one  cheek,  turn  to 
him  the  other  also,  have  been  more  intimately  associated 
than  all  other  Christians  with  burglars,  horse-stealers, 
highwaymen,  wife-beaters,  and  murderers.  Since  long 
before  the  days  of  Elizabeth  Fry,  the  amiclioration  of  the 
state  of  criminals  has  been  one  of  the  things  with  which 
the  Society  of  Friends  has  most  persistently  occupied 
its  philanthropic  energies.  They  were  called  Quakers, 
as  everybody  knows,  by  a  judge  who  was  only  too  happy 
to  give  their  founder,  George  Fox,  a  taste  both  of  the 
prison  and  the  lash.  Their  refusal  to  take  oaths  in 
courts  of  justice,  as  well  as  the  stiffness  of  their  general 
nonconformity,  and  their  preaching  of  the  Gospel  of 
peace  in  an  aggressive  manner,  gave  thousands  of  them 
an  acquaintance  with  the  interior  of  prisons,  and  with 
jail-life,  which  could  not  be  entirely  without  effect  upon 
the  traditions  and  tendencies  of  the  sect.  But  be  this 
as  it  may,  it  will  not  be  denied  that  the  cause  of  the 
prisoner  (at  least  till  a  comparatively  recent  period)  has 
been  almost  made  exclusively  their  own  by  the  disciples 
of  George  Fox,  that  cheerful  culprit,  who,  as  Voltaire 
puts  it,  when  he  had  received  his  proper  share  of  the 


i6S  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

lash,  begged  for  a  "  double  dose "  for  the  good  of  his 
soul. 

George  Washington  Walker,  of  whose  life  and  labours 
it  is  proposed  to  give  a  brief  account  in  these  pages,  was 
an  excellent  specimen  of  the  Quaker  fraternity,  both  on 
the  score  of  its  general  philanthropy,  and  its  special  de- 
votion to  the  cause  of  the  prisoner.  His  name,  though 
revered  in  the  Society,  and  not  forgotten  in  the  colony 
in  which  he  spent  his  later  years,  is  all  too  little  known 
in  England  ;  and  for  this  reason  a  slight  sketch  of  his 
career  may  have  an  interest  for  some  readers,  such  as 
could  not  be  easily  imparted  to  the  biography  even  of 
more  celebrated  ornaments  of  the  sect.  Like  many  of 
his  brethren,  with  all  his  taking  of  Scripture  literally 
where  it  would  have  been  easier  to  take  it  otherwise,  he 
took  in  that  way  its  philanthropy,  and  especially  the 
precept,  "  Let  not  your  left  hand  know  what  your  right 
hand  doeth."  He  was  one  of  those  friends  of  humanity, 
perhaps  exceptionally  numerous  among  Quakers,  who  do 
good  by  stealth,  and  who  do  not  take  the  same  pains,  or, 
it  may  be,  enjoy  the  same  facilities,  as  those  of  other  and 
more  powerful  sects  in  the  way  of  keeping  the  outside 
world  informed  as  to  what  they  have  done  and  are  going 
to  do  for  its  benefit. 

George  Washington  Walker's  fame  has  suffered  in  this 
way.  It  has  suffered  still  more,  perhaps,  from  what  is 
rather  an  accident  to  which  good  men  of  all  sects  are 
posthumously  hable  than  a  rule  of  their  Society,  which 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  169 

bears  heavily  on  the  best  of  deceased  Quakers.  His 
Hfe  has  been  written  in  one  of  those  bulky  volumes  in 
wliich  the  memory  of  the  just  is  destined  to  perish.  Any 
chance  that  there  was  of  his  renown  extending  beyond 
the  bounds  of  the  Society,  and  of  its  being  perpetuated 
to  a  distant  age,  was  abolished  by  its  being  entombed 
in  a  large  octavo,  published  by  the  Society.  So  that  if 
*'  Ne  quid  nimis  "  is  a  rule  which  ought  to  be  strictly 
applied  in  biography  as  in  other  literature,  our  good 
Quaker's  memory  has  suffered  from  the  breach  of  that 
rule  in  more  ways  than  one ;  as,  according  to  their 
custom,  there  was  most  likely  too  little  said  of  him  by 
the  Friends  while  he  lived,  so  by  an  exceptional  con- 
formity to  the  customs  of  an  evil  world,  they  have  had 
too  much  to  say  of  him  since  his  death  to  admit  of  his 
being  known  as  he  ought  to  have  been. 

A  great  part  of  the  Society's  bulky  life  of  him  is 
occupied  by  his  journals  and  letters, "written  during  the 
period  of  his  travels  in  Australia  and  in  Africa.  Though 
written  with  Quaker  gravity  and  simplicity  and  stiffness, 
and  though  relating  to  countries  which  have  been  visited 
by  troops  of  missionaries  since  his  day,  these  journals 
and  letters  are  by  no  means  dull  reading.  It  is  especi- 
ally amusing  as  well  as  edifying  to  note  in  them  how 
extremes  of  human  character  meet,  and  in  their  meeting 
display  towards  each  other  a  courteous  behaviour — tlie 
benefactor  of  his  kind,  purist  even  in  his  speech  and 
in  his  dress,  conversing   amicably  in  the  penal  settle- 


I70  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

ments  of  Australia  with  compatriots  who  had  left  their 
country  for  their  country's  good,  thouing  and  theeing 
scoundrels  converted  by  inhuman  punishment  into 
fiends,  and  at  least  in  one  case  receiving  from  them 
what  would  thus  seem  to  be  a  possibility  of  any  con- 
ceivable state  of  sinners — a  complimentary  address : 
*'  We,  the  prisoners  of  the  Crown,  embracing  the  tehets 
of  the  Protestant  faith,"  &c. 

Walker  was  born  in  London  in  1800,  the  son  of 
Unitarian  parents,  of  whom  one  died  when  he  was  very 
young,  and  the  other,  when  he  was  five  years  old,  re- 
moved to  Paris,  leaving  him  to  the  charge  of  his  grand- 
mother at  Newcastle-on-Tyne.  At  the  age  of  fourteen, 
after  having  been  baptized  by  a  Unitarian  minister  and 
confirmed  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  he  was  appren- 
ticed to  "  a  professor  of  religion,"  who  was,  nevertheless, 
"a  very  inconsiderate  man,  at  whose  death,  his  appren- 
ticeship not  having  expired,  he  was  transferred  to  the 
drapery  establishment  of  Hawden  Bragg,"  an  upright 
and  consistent  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  After 
Hawden's  death,  his  widow  asked  James  Backhouse,  of 
York,  a  leading  member  of  the  Society,  and  not  one  of 
its  least  brilliant  ornaments,  to  assist  her  in  the  valua- 
tion of  the  stock.  On  this  occasion  Backhouse  and 
Walker  met  for  the  first  time,  and  their  meeting  at  the 
stock-taking  in  a  Newcastle  draper's  shop  was  the 
commencement  of  a  friendship  which  was  cemented  by 
much  travel,  and  by  much  co-operation  of  another  than 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  171 

the  commercial  sort.  The  immediate  result  of  this 
acquaintance  was  the  conversion  of  young  Walker  from 
the  faith  of  his  fathers  to  that  of  Mary  Bragg  and  James 
Backhouse.  He  began  to  attend  the  meetings  for  wor- 
ship of  the  Friends,  and  in  1827  was  formally  received 
into  the  Society. 

During  his  residence  with  the  Braggs,  an  attachment 
sprang  up  between  him  and  their  daughter  Mary,  to 
which  a  melancholy  end  was  put  by  her  death.  This 
episode  in  a  life  devoted  to  the  sternest  duties  of  philan- 
thropy is  not  without  a  touch  of  poetic  beauty.  Poor 
Mary  Bragg,  for  a  year  or  two  before  her  death,  was 
afflicted  with  blindness,  and  in  reference  to  this  calamity 
her  Quaker  lover  writes  to  her  in  a  strain  which  would 
throw  the  audience  in  a  law  court  on  certain  occasions 
into  fits  of  laughter,  but  which  here,  perhaps,  may  be 
read  not  without  a  sigh.  "  I  have  thought  much  of  the 
declaration  of  Ruth  to  Naomi,  and  with  my  whole  heart 
and  soul  I  can  address  thee  in  the  same  manner.  No 
language  of  my  own  can  convey  a  more  genuine  tran- 
script of  my  heart  as  it  relates  to  thee  than  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  verses  of  the  first  chapter  of  Ruth, 
which  thy  dear  mother  will  read  to  thee." 

Mary's  death  was  followed  by  a  memorable  crisis  in, 
his  life.  His  friend  Backhouse  "  had  for  many  years 
had  an  impression  on  his  mind  that  it  would  be  required 
of  him  to  pay  a  religious  visit  to  some  parts  of  the 
southern  hemisphere ;   and    in   this  impression  he  was 


172  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

confirmed  by  the  judgment  of  the  Society,  which  took 
the  matter  into  consideration  at  its  regular  monthly, 
quarterly,  and  yearly  meetings.  After  settling  his 
affairs  and  leaving  York,  Backhouse  waited  in  London 
for  some  weeks  in  the  hope  of  a  companion  turning  up. 
While  he  waited  he  prayed,  and  one  evening,  having  as 
usual  petitioned  that  a  travelling  companion  might  be 
assigned  to  him,  he  retired  to  rest,  with  the  feeling 
strong  in  his  mind  that  any  doubts  as  to  his  mission 
which  still  lingered  about  him  would  be  set  at  rest  if  that 
supplication  were  successful.  "Towards  morning,"  he 
says,  "  before  I  was  thoroughly  awake,  I  was  considering 
who  there  were  in  various  places  who  might  be  suitable 
for  such  a  service,  when  the  words.  Now  look  northward^ 
were  distinctly  and  powerfully  impressed  upon  my  mind, 
and  in  a  moment  Newcastle  and  my  friend  G.  W.  Walker 
were  set  before  me." 

When  this  fact  was  communicated  to  Walker,  he  was 
brought  "under  close  exercise  of  mind."  He  had  not 
anticipated  any  call  from  being  behind  the  counter  in 
Newcastle  to  "  ministerial  duty "  in  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere. The  oracular  form  in  which  it  came  to  him  did 
not,  irrespective  of  the  inward  Hght,  settle  the  question 
whether  he  should  accept  it.  After  much  hesitation  he 
did  accept  it,  judging,  in  the  first  place,  with  character- 
istic sagacity  and  modesty,  that  the  way  to  overcome 
tendencies  to  evil,  of  which  he  was  conscious,  was  to 
avail  himself  of  the  opportunity  to  do  good ;  and  also 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  173 

that  some  indication  of  his  duty  had  been  given  him  in 
the  fact  that  he  was  not  hindered  by  domestic  and  social 
ties  from  devoting  himself  to  the  service  of  humanity. 

Accredited  to  "the   southern  hemisphere"  by  a  cir- 
cular epistle  from  the  Newcastle  meeting  of  Friends, 
Walker   and   his   companion   sailed   from    London   for 
Tasmania  in  1831.     Some  Chelsea  pensioners,  who  had 
"commuted  their  life  pensions  for  an  advance  of  four 
years'  payment,'  were   their  fellow  -  voyagers,  and  with 
these  drunken   and   disorderly  steerage  passengers  the 
Friends  had  much  to  do  on  the  side  of  peace  and  of  the 
captain.     In  the  course  of  the  voyage,  Walker  became 
impressed  with  the  belief  that  he  had  a  commission  to 
preach  the  Gospel  as  well  as  his  companion,  who  was 
frequently  moved  to  address  the  ship's  company.     His 
courage,  however,  failed  him  ;  "  through  fear  and  human 
weakness  "  the  few  remarks  which  occurred  to  him  were 
suppressed,  and  he  turned  again  to  the  lighter  and  less 
formidable   duties   of  separating   pensioners    who   were 
fighting  with  each  other,  and  of  supporting  T.  B.  and  the 
captain   in   their    efforts    to    suppress   mutinies   always 
breaking  out  afresh,  either   in   the   steerage  or  in  the 
forecastle,  on  the  subject  of  the  daily  dispensation  of 
grog.     How  far  the  influence  of  goodness  may  extend, 
even  v/hen  that  influence  is  circumscribed  by  the  fear  and 
human  weakness  which  suppress  the  tendency  to  preach- 
ing, was  seen  on  this  voyage  on  several  occasions  in 
Walker's  case ;  and  more  especially  when,  on  his  inter- 


174  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

posing  in  a  quarrel  in  which  blows  were  going,  one  of 
the  bystanders  clasped  him  round  the  waist,  and  en- 
treated him  to  let  others  mediate  in  a  case  in  which 
there  was  so  much  risk  of  personal  injur}'. 

The  ship  having  touched  at  the  Cape,  the  Quakers 
visited  the  jail  at  Cape  Town,  thus  beginning  work  in 
South  Africa,  in  which  they  were  destined  some  years 
afterwards  to  earn  for  themselves  and  for  the  Society 
an  honourable  name.  In  one  of  the  condemned  cells 
there  was  a  prisoner  whose  case  deeply  stirred  their 
sympathies.  He  was  under  sentence  of  death,  having 
been  convicted  of  murdering  his  wife  in  a  fit  of  drunken- 
ness. A  Hottentot  and  a  Mohammedan,  he  had  since 
his  confinement  been  converted  to  Christianity,  by  the 
efforts  of  Dr.  Philip,  of  the  London  Missionary  Society, 
who,  it  was  reported,  finally  gained  his  object  by  suggest- 
ing to  the  prisoner  that  he  should  ask  the  Mohammedan 
"priest"  who  visited  him  whether  any  provision  was 
made  in  his  religion  for  the  pardon  of  sin — a  question 
at  which,  so  to  speak,  the  Moslem  theologian  was 
obliged  to  surrender  at  discretion.  At  the  same  time, 
however,  that  he  noted  this  triumph  of  the  Christian 
divine  over  the  priest  of  the  false  prophet,  our  Quakor 
missionary,  with  characteristic  fairness,  records  a  fact,  on 
the  strength  of  which  the  defeated  Mohammedan  might 
perhaps,  if  he  had  chosen,  have  prolonged  the  contest 
with  his  adversary,  viz.,  that  the  prisoner's  brother,  also 
a  Hottentot  and  a  Mohammedan,  had  subjected  himself 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  175 

to  confinement  in  order  to  be  near  him,  and  was  con- 
verted along  with  him.  Before  they  left  Cape  Town,  a 
prayer  meeting  was  held  in  the  Mission  Chapel,  under 
the  presidency  of  Dr.  Philip,  which  the  Friends  "  be- 
lieved it  right  to  attend,"  and  they  heard  there  what 
pleased  them  much,  of  the  unity  that  prevails  among 
spiritually-minded  Christians  "  in  essentials." 

The  Quakers,  on  their  arrival  in  Tasmania,  stayed 
three  months  in  the  capital,  Hobart  Town,  which  was 
then  about  a  third  of  its  present  size,  having  a  population 
of  a  little  over  eight  thousand.  During  this  time  they 
arranged  their  plans  for  carrying  out  their  mission,  which, 
as  described  in  a  letter  of  Lord  Goderich,  the  Secretary 
of  State,  introducing  them  to  the  Governor,  Colonel 
Arthur,  was  "to  promote  the  moral  and  religious  welfare 
of  the  colony,  especially  of  the  convicts."  More  par- 
ticularly defined,  their  object  was  to  preach  the  Gospel 
everywhere,  among  prisoners  and  colonists ;  to  inquire 
into  the  state  of  the  aborigines ;  to  inspect  penal  settle- 
ments, jails,  schools,  and  public  institutions ;  and  lastly, 
to  oppose  the  rampant  evil  of  intemperance.  Governor 
Arthur,  no  red-tapist,  though  something  of  a  martinet, 
was  ready  to  second  their  efforts,  and  his  patronage  was 
of  course  an  invaluable  help  to  philanthropists  whose 
hat-brims  were  over  the  regulation  breadth,  and  whose 
commission  was  only  from  Newcastle  Friends  to  all 
whom  it  might  concern. 

In  regard  to  the  aborigines,  the  Quakers  found  that 


176  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

their  mission  was  as  nearly  as  possible  not  to  the  quick 
but  to  the  dead.  Before  their  arrival,  most  of  the  few 
remaining  Tasmanians  had  been  benevolently  decoyed 
by  George  Augustus  Robinson  into  a  convenient  corner 
of  the  country,  from  which  they  were  transported  to 
Flinders  Island,  in  Bass's  Straits,  with  the  view  of  being 
civilised.  The  experiment  failed.  A  tardy  effort  to 
improve  the  race  was  not  attended  with  the  success  that 
had  crowned  earlier  endeavours  to  exterminate  it,  and 
since  then  the  last  of  the  Tasmanians,  an  old  woman, 
has  paid  the  debt  of  nature — paid  it,  or,  perhaps,  trans- 
ferred it  to  the  score  of  our  national  liabilities  in  relation 
to  humanity. 

George  Augustus  Robinson's  story  has  been  often 
told.  The  Quakers  heard  it  from  his  own  lips,  and 
were  much  moved  by  it.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  story  such 
as  a  Quaker  might  have  loved  to  tell  to  Quakers. 
Robinson  took  up  his  abode  with  one  of  the  tribes,  or 
"mobs,"  as  they  were  commonly  called,  on  Bruni  Island, 
and  having  established  himself  in  their  favour  and  con- 
fidence, he  persuaded  some  of  them  to  accompany  him 
on  a  tour  through  the  country  in  the  capacity  of 
interpreters.  His  hardships,  and  those  of  his  black 
companions,  were  extreme.  Such  had  been  the  effect 
of  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  colonists  and  their 
convict  servants  on  the  minds  of  the  natives,  that  every 
white  man  was  to  them  an  enemy.  Most  of  the  tribes 
were  hostile  to  each  other,  and  they  were  all  at  deadly 


GEORGE  IVASm.VGTOX  WALKER.  177 

feud  with  the  Christians,  free  and  bound.  To  approach 
a  native  encampment,  therefore,  in  the  character  of 
peacemaker,  was  attended  with  the  same  consequences 
as  to  challenge  it  to  fight ;  and  from  these  consequences 
Robinson's  interpreters  were  in  the  habit  of  running 
away,  leaving  him  to  encounter  them  the  best  way  he 
could.  In  spite,  however,  of  all  difficulties  and  dangers, 
he  succeeded  in  collecting  about  a  hundred  savages,  and 
in  inducing  them  to  remove  with  him  to  Flinders  Island, 
to  be  protected  from  Christians  and  to  be  civilised  and 
Christianised. 

Their  interest  in  the  aborigines,  as  well  as  their  desire 
to  till  neglected  spiritual  ground,  led  the  Quakers  to 
court  acquaintance  with  a  party  of  sealers  from  one  of 
the  small  islands  in  Bass's  Straits  who  chanced  to  visit 
Hobart  Town,  and  with  regard  to  whom  shocking 
rumours  were  in  circulation  as  to  their  appropriation  of 
native  women  and  their  treatment  of  their  offspring. 
G.  W.  Walker  and  his  friend,  with  the  characteristic 
bent  of  Quakers  towards  practical  philanthropy,  under- 
stood that  they  had  been  sent  as  missionaries,  not  to 
convert  the  converted,  but  to  save  the  lost,  and  here 
there  seemed  to  be  an  excellent  opening  for  their  efforts. 
When  the  sealer  party  was  brought  before  Governor 
Arthur  to  be  subjected  to  a  sort  of  patriarchal  catechisa- 
tion  (with  the  cat-o'-nine-tails  in  the  background),  the 
Quakers  who  were  present  and  all  attention,  expected 
to  hear  the  most  revolting  evidence  produced  as  to  the 


178  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

ignorance  in  which  the  young  sealers  were  allowed  to 
grow  up  by  their  rude  and  lawless  parents.  They  were 
agreeably  disappointed  to  find  themselves  present  at  an 
examination  in  religious  knowledge  which  would  have 
eflcited  the  approbation  of  a  School  Inspector.  A  sealer's 
so-called  wife  was  asked  if  she  had  any  children.  The 
answer  was,  that  she  had  two,  both  of  them  at  the  door, 
and  ready  to  be  called  in  for  inspection.  His  Excellency 
had  both  introduced  to  him,  and  proceeded  to  catechise 
them.  The  elder,  nine  years  of  age,  repeated  the  Lord's 
Prayer  and  the  Creed,  and  in  answer  to  the  Governor's 
questions  showed  "that  he  had  correct  notions  of  a 
future  state."  The  younger  boy,  little  more  than  six 
years  old,  in  spite  of  an  impediment  in  his  speech, 
acquitted  himself  under  examination  no  less  admirably 
than  his  brother.  As  their  father  had  been  represented 
to  be  one  of  the  worst  of  a  bad  lot,  G.  W.  Walker's 
reflection  on  the  occasion  was  to  the  effect,  "  that  care 
is  requisite  in  listening  to  reports  prejudicial  to  indi- 
viduals or  communities " — a  remark  the  far-reaching 
justice  of  which  may  be  taken  as  an  excuse  for  its 
Quaker-like  simplicity.  He  and  his  companion  after- 
wards exhibited  their  sympathy  for  the  sealer  in  his 
lonely  life,  and  his  supposed  devotion  to  the  care  of  his 
offspring,  by  cruising  among  the  islands  in  Bass's  Straits, 
at  no  small  risk  to  their  lives.  In  the  meantime  they 
were  moved  by  pity  for  a  calumniated  class  of  men  to 
be   se<'tarian   for   once.     In  parting  with  three  of  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTOX  WALKER.  179 

sealer  friends  they  showed  them,  from  the  example  of 
the  Society,  how  worship  might  be  maintained  on  Gun 
Carriage  Island  and  other  places,  with  a  population  of 
eighteen  souls  or  thereabouts,  without  the  presence  of 
"a  minister  of  human  ordination." 

If  there  was  little  to  be  done  for  the  aborigines  when 
the  Quakers  arrived  in  Tasmania,  their  mission  to  the 
convicts  was  not  so  ill-timed.  As  a  home  for  prisoners 
Van  Diemen's  Land  was  then  at  the  height  of  its  dismal 
prosperity,  and  a  better  idea  of  Paradise  colonised  from 
its  exact  antipodes,  could  scarcely  be  got  than  from  the 
pages  of  G.  W.  Walker's  journal,  descriptive  of  what  he 
saw  of  the  island.  A  few  days  after  his  arrival  he  went 
on  board  a  ship  which  had  just  arrived  in  harbour  with 
a  cargo  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  male  convicts, 
apparently  a  homogeneous  load,  but  in  reality  mis- 
cellaneous, as  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  "magi- 
strates were  engaged  in  taking  down  a  description  of 
each  as  to  character,"  &c.  It  was  necessary,  or  at  any 
rate  useful,  to  take  note  of  shades  of  reputation,  though 
none  of  the  very  finest  were  to  be  looked  for,  inasmuch 
as  the  system  of  assigning  prisoners  as  servants  to  the 
colonists  was  then  in  full  vogue ;  and  this  cargo  of 
villany,  like  many  a  previous  shipload  of  the  same  sort, 
was  destined  for  distribution  over  the  colony,  and  among 
people  of  various  tastes  in  the  matter  of  character. 
Some  colonists  wanting  a  servant  might  prefer  a  burglar 
to  a  poacher  ;  others  might  prefer  a  bigamous  tailor  to  a 


l8o  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

larcenous  shoemaker.  IMr.  Prinsep,  a  colonist,  wrote 
to  his  friends,  "  In  our  small  fuhiage  our  cook  has  com- 
mitted murder,  our  footman  burglary,  and  the  housemaid 
bigamy,"  Mr.  Prinsep's  neighbour  perhaps  chose  to 
have  his  estabUshment  differently  furnished  in  respect  of 
moral  character.  Different  tastes  had  to  be  suited  on 
the  part  of  colonists,  and  accordingly  the  first  thing  done 
with  a  cargo  of  convicts  was  to  classify  them  according 
to  their  quality  as  regards  breaches  of  the  ten  command- 
ments. After  being  thus  classified  they  were  informed 
(sometimes  by  his  Excellency  himself,  who  was  a  capital 
preacher  as  well  as  a  genuine  statesman)  of  their 
prospects  in  the  land  of  their  probation.  They  were 
told  that  being  assigned  as  servants  to  respectable 
colonists  they  would  get  food,  clothing,  and  bedding,  in 
return  for  their  whole  labour ;  that,  as  the  result  of  good 
conduct,  ticket-of-leave,  conditional  pardon,  and  even 
free  pardon,  were  within  their  reach ;  that  if  they 
relapsed  into  crime  there  was  first  the  watchhouse 
before  them,  then  the  prison  or  the  chain-gang,  then  the 
scaffold,  or,  as  a  worse  alternative,  transportation  to  a 
penal  settlement  like  Macquarie  Harbour. 

G.  W.  Walker  and  his  companion  began  their  labours 
among  their  countrymen,  to  whom  a  new  start  in  life  was 
thus  offered  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  by  a  visit  to 
a  party  whose  prospects  had  been  exceptionally  bad 
from  the  first,  or  had  been  marred  by  a  relapse  into  old 
habits.      This    was    a    chain-gang,    consisting    of   one 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  iSi 

hundred  and  fifty  men,  employed  on  the  construction  of 
a  road  across  the  Derwent  by  means  ot"  piers  and  a 
drawbridge.  An  undertaking  of  enormous  magnitude 
and  difficulty,  this  Bridgewater  causeway,  as  the  Quakers 
had  probably  heard  before  visiting  it,  had  witnessed 
many  strange  and  some  terrible  scenes,  to  which  survivors 
of  chain-gangs  might  be  heard  alluding  in  mysterious 
hints  as  to  the  material  used  being  human  agony  and 
blood.  The  place,  however,  could  scarcely  have 
witnessed  a  stranger  scene  than  was  added  to  the 
memories  connected  with  it  by  the  visit  of  the  Quakers. 
The  prisoners,  with  their  irons  attached  to  the  ankles, 
were  drawn  up  in  their  barrack  yard.  A  file  of  soldiers 
was  stationed  on  an  elevated  position  so  as  to  hear,  and 
perhaps  also  to  see.  In  attendance  upon  the  Quakers 
was  a  servant  of  the  Governor  in  his  livery.  Backhouse 
read  the  eighth  chapter  of  Matthew,  in  which  it  will  be 
remembered  there  are  several  references  to  possession 
by  devils  and  a  solemn  allusion  to  the  last  judgment, 
and,  after  a  pause,  expounded  what  he  had  read,  urging 
"these  poor  criminals  who  had  been  condemned  at  the 
bar  of  an  earthly  tribunal,"  to  prepare  for  a  greater  assize 
so  as  to  be  in  no  danger  of  condemnation.  Very 
remarkable  scenes  indeed  must  have  been  witnessed  at 
Bridgewater,  if  this  was  not  one  of  the  most  memorable 
ever  transacted  in  its  neighbourhood.  Never  surely 
were  missionaries  farther  from  home  than  were  Walker 
and  his  companion,  thus  preaching  the  Gospel  at  the 


1 82  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

antipodes  to  those  who  even  there,  as  belonging  to  the 
chain-gang,  were  far  off.  Nor  was  the  genius  of  Chris- 
tianity as  a  missionary,  as  a  universal  religion,  ever 
perhaps  so  strikingly  illustrated  in  the  adventures  of 
Christian  emissaries  in  heathen  lands  among  savages 
and  wild  beasts,  as  by  the  disciples  of  George  Fox, 
offenders  against  law  and  usage  only,  if  at  all,  by 
opposition  to  war  and  oaths  and  all  manner  of  violence 
in  word  and  deed,  standing  at  the  very  ends  of  the 
earth,  before  the  chain-gang,  victims  of  double  crime 
and  accumulated  punishment,  and  reasoning  with  them 
concerning  temperance  and  righteousness  and  judgment 
to  come. 

II. 

After  preaching  to  the  chain-gang  in  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  there  was  possibly  just  one  step  further  which 
Christian  philanthropy  could  carry  the  Quakers  on 
their  religious  mission  to  the  southern  hemisphere,  and 
that  step  was  taken  when  they  proceeded  to  call  Mac- 
quarie  Harbour  and  the  other  penal  settlements  in 
Australia  to  repentance.  Convicts  for  whom  the  society 
of  the  chain-gang  was  too  good,  select  criminals  who  had 
attained  a  bad  eminence  at  home,  or  had  earned  dis- 
tinction after  being  transported,  were  consigned  to  these 
settlements  when  it  was  not  found  advisable  to  hang 
them.  It  is  not  altogether  irrelevantly  that  the  gallows 
and  the  penal  settlement  are  here  mentioned  together. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  183 

Between  the  two,  at  any  rate  according  to  the  views 
of  those  principally  concerned,  there  was  very  little  to 
choose,  and  if  any  choice  was  possible,  it  was  to  be 
given,  in  their  opinion,  in  favour  of  the  former.  It  might 
be,  as  Sydney  Smith  suggested  fifty  years  ago,  that  "  a 
London  thief,  clothed  in  kangaroos'  skins,  lodged  under 
the  bark  of  the  dwarf  eucalyptus,  and  keeping  sheep 
fourteen  thousand  miles  from  Piccadilly,  with  a  crook 
bent  into  the  shape  of  a  picklock,  was  not  an  uninterest- 
ing picture,"  or  a  picture  of  an  unenviable  lot ;  but  there 
was  a  counterpart  to  be  found  to  such  a  view  of  the  con- 
dition of  convicts  in  Australia,  which  miglit  have  been 
made  use  of  to  calm  the  fears  of  people  at  home  lest 
their  condition  should  be  made  too  agreeable  and 
attractive ;  and  the  counterpart  was  the  penal  settlement 
like  Macquarie  Harbour,  to  escape  from  which  the 
London  thief  would  often  break  into  "the  bloody  house 
of  life,"  so  as  to  make  sure  of  being  hanged. 

If  it  were  determined  to  establish  a  penal  colony  in 
the  wilds  of  the  Western  Highlands  of  Scotland,  or  on 
the  western  coast  of  Ireland,  in  a  situation  contrived  to 
make  solitude  horrible  and  escape  impossible  ;  if  such  a 
situation  were  discovered  on  a  rock  in  the  middle  of  a 
loch  like  Torridon  or  Ewe  ;  if  instead  of  being  accessible 
from  places  along  shore,  or  from  the  interior  of  the 
country,  this  island  jail,  a  prison  inside  of  prisons,  were 
separated  from  the  nearest  abodes  of  men  by  a  hundred 
miles  or  more  of  insuperable  difficulty  in  the  shape  of 


i84  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

mountain  and  forest  and  jungle  and  fordless  river ;  if  to 
this  place  of  the  doubly  condemned  there  were  conveyed 
a  few  hundreds  of  the  most  desperate  criminals  now  in 
Portland  or  Dartmoor,  and  if  everything  were  done  by 
conscientious  officers  of  her  Majesty's  service  to  main- 
tarn  among  its  inmates  an  unbroken  monotony  of 
misery  and  despair,  it  would  have  some  resemblance  to 
Macquarie  Harbour. 

No  nation,  perhaps,  which  has  yet  obtained  a  con- 
spicuous place  in  the  world  is  in  danger  of  losing  its 
place  through  the  sin  of  pride,  unless  while  remembering 
its  victories  by  sea  and  land  it  forgets  its  treatment  of 
poor  relations,  especially  the  poorest  of  all,  that  large 
section  of  the  criminal  class  who,  as  the  result  of 
imperious  social  conditions,  are  left  morally  naked,  and 
are  sent  to  the  hulks  for  not  being  clothed.  Any  one 
who  reads  what  our  good  Quakers  have  to  say  of  our 
penal  settlements  in  Australia,  at  the  commencement  of 
her  Majesty's  reign,  must  confess  that  England,  as  well 
as  other  nations,  is  not  without  cause  for  blushing  in  this 
respect.  Nor  is  it  only  perhaps  in  recalling  the  past 
that  occasion  might  be  found  for  such  a  display  of 
humility  on  the  part  of  our  victorious  country.  If  it  be 
true  that  even  at  the  present  day  discharged  prisoners, 
as  a  rule,  leave  jail  (possibly  after  a  term  of  years) 
penniless  and  friendless,  and  thus  with  the  temptation  to 
crime  redoubled ;  and  if  it  be  true  that  in  many  cases 
they  re-enter  respectable  society  wearing  a  suit  of  clothes 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.    '  185 

which  in  its  excessive  shoddiness  is  a  lesson  in  rascality, 
and  by  its  pattern  is  an  advertisement  of  "  Who's  who," 
addressed  to  the  police  and  to  the  public — if  this  be 
true,  the  treatment  of  our  poor  relations  is  still  so  little 
to  our  credit  that  even  Waterloo  should  hardly  serve  to 
support  our  pride. 

Macquarie  Harbour,  on  the  west  (the  uninhabited) 
coast  of  Tasmania,  when  it  was  visited  by  the  Quakers, 
though  shorn  by  that  time  of  some  of  its  atrocities,  was 
a  disgrace  to  civilisation  and  to  Christianity,  such  as  the 
world  has  rarely  witnessed.  If  it  had  existed  in  his 
time,  Dante  might  have  drawn  from  it,  for  his  Inferno, 
hints  of  some  quaint  and  some  tremendous  horrors. 
Those  who  approached  it  by  "  Hell's  Gates,"  an  almost 
impossible  bar  at  the  entrance,  forgot  the  profanity  of  the 
name  in  thinking  of  its  truth.  Sarah's  Island,  nearly 
thirty  miles  from  these  gates,  and  three  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  a  river  called  the  Gordon,  closely  resembling 
the  Styx  in  colour,  and  also  in  the  character  of  its 
noxious  exhalations,  was  the  place  chosen  for  the  settle- 
ment by  Governor  Arthur's  predecessor.  Such  was  the 
settlement  as  to  justify  Mr.  West,  the  historian  of 
Tasmania,  in  saying  of  the  island,  "  Nature  concurred 
with  the  objects  of  its  separation  from  the  rest  of  the 
world  to  exhibit  some  notion  of  a  perfect  misery.  There 
man  lost  the  aspect  and  the  heart  of  a  man." 

This  insular  Tartarus,  a  rock  half  a  mile  long  by  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  broad,  accommodated   from  two  to 


l86  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

three  hundred  prisoners  in  wooden  barracks,  through 
which  groans  and  oaths,  the  sound  of  the  lash,  and 
the  clanking  of  chains  reverberated  with  horrible  effect ; 
and  in  a  jail  the  cells  of  which  were  narrow  and  dark, 
and  noisome  to  a  degree,  calculated  to  brutalise  any 
known  variety  of  human  disposition  and  character. 
Two  neighbouring  rocks  completed  the  accommodation 
required  for  the  settlement :  the  one  was  Halliday's 
Island,  where  the  wicked  who  ceased  from  troubling 
found  earth  to  cover  them ;  and  the  other  was  Grum- 
met's or  Pilot  Island,  where  the  wicked  who  were  too 
troublesome  to  be  endured  were  consigned  to  an  un- 
heard of  solitude.  In  the  sides  of  this  latter  island 
there  are  caves,  which  have  a  tale  to  tell  of  former  days 
that  seems  barely  credible,  but  the  truth  of  which  is 
attested  as  if  by  the  oaths  of  Quaker  witnesses  before  a 
Quaker  judge  and  jury.  Into  these  caves  men  clam- 
bered  up  out  of  the  surf  when  they  were  tossed  out  of 
the  boat  which  had  brought  them  and  their  oarsmen 
from  Sarah's  Island,  and,  thus  provided  with  a  lodging, 
were  left  for  days  or  weeks  "to  add  their  yells  to  the 
scream  of  the  sea-birds  and  the  moan  of  the  western 
wind." 

The  Quakers  were  philanthropists  who,  instead  of 
preaching  too  much,  kept  accounts,  and  kept  them 
accurately.  With  a  view  to  practical  results  they  were 
careful  to  note  facts  with  draper-like  precision.  Walker 
spent  much  time  over  his  journals  "writing  out  at  night, 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON -WALKER.  187 

in  a  clear  and  beautiful  hand,"  what  he  had  seen  during 
the  day.  Here  at  Macquarie  Harbour,  there  was  much 
to  be  done  by  him  in  that  way. 

What  with  crimes  of  violence  and  accidents  occurring 
to  gangs  of  labourers,  which  could  only  have  happened 
to  convicts  under  the  charge  of  convict  overseers,  it  was 
almost  three  to  one  at  this  Australian  settlement  that 
death  should  result  from  other  than  natural  causes.  Of 
eighty-five  deaths,  only  thirty  were  in  the  course  of 
nature.  In  three  years  two-thirds  of  the  population  had 
had  distributed  among  them  six  thousand  two  hundred 
and  eighty  lashes,  or  about  thirty  per  man.  The  diffi- 
culty, or  rather  the  impossibility,  of  escape  did  not  deter 
even  craven  spirits  from  attempting  the  desperate  enter- 
prise. In  the  course  of  ten  years  a  hundred  and  sixty- 
nine  men  attempted  to  get  away,  of  whom  sixty  or 
seventy  perished  in  the  woods,  fifty-seven  were  recap- 
tured, and  only  six  lived  to  tell  the  tale  of  how  difficult 
is  the  ascent  from  the  under  world.  As  for  the  rest 
their  fate  is  doubtful,  or  if  anything  is  certain  with  regard 
to  their  end,  it  is  that  they  were  murdered  to  be  eatea 
"  It  is  a  horrid  but  indubitable  fact,"  as  the  Quakers 
report,  **  that  on  several  occasions  when  a  party  of  men 
had  determined  to  take  to  the  bush,  some  unsuspecting 
simple  man  was  inveigled  into  the  conspiracy,  for  the 
express  purpose  of  furnishing  food ; "  and  as  we  need 
hardly  have  been  told  upon  other  authority  almost  as 
good  as  the  Quakers',  it  is  an  equally  undoubted  fact 


i88  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

that  when  such  a  man  had  to  be  chosen  it  was  a  point 
in  favour  of  the  guileless  man  if  he  happened  to  be 
neither  too   old  nor  too  lean.      Or  if  this  should  be 
deemed   an   incredible   horror,    its   historical   character 
may  perhaps  be  supported  by  the  fact  that  when  escape 
through  the  bush  failed  or  was  considered  impossible, 
even  with  the  help  of  the  guileless  fat  man,  there  was 
one  exit  which  was  taken  advantage  of  by  many.     If  one 
man  was  murdered,  several  were  delivered,  at  least  for 
a  time,  from  Tartarus.     The  murdered  man's  release  was 
instantaneous  and  complete.     His  murderer's  was  sure 
to  come  soon.     The  witnesses,  if  not  also  emancipated 
by  the  gallows  as  accomplices,  were  certain,  at  any  rate, 
of  a  holiday  in  being  taken  to  Hobart  Town  to  give  evi- 
dence.    So  something  in  lieu  of  a  coin  was  often  tossed 
up  to  decide  by  an  appeal  to  the  fates  how  a  life  was  to 
be  taken — who  was  to  be  murdered,  who  was  to  murder, 
and  who  were  to  have  a  holiday  as  witnesses.     "The 
blow  would  be  struck,"  says  a  historian  of  Marquarie 
Harbour;    "one  would  be  hanged,   and  two  or  three 
would  exchange  for  a  few  weeks  the  pine  shore  of  one 
prison  for  the  stone  floor  of  Hobart  Town  jail." 

Such  was  the  field  of  work  and  observation  into  which 
the  Quakers  entered,  taking  that  one  step  which  it  was 
possible  for  Christian  philanthropy  to  take  beyond  the 
Australian  chain-gang.  They  were  here  at  the  ends  of 
the  earth  on  their  benign  errand;  the  force  of  charity 
could  no  farther  carry  them  away  from   home.     They 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  1S9 

did  not  travel  so  far  altogether  in  vain.  Their  visit  to  Mac- 
quarie  Harbour  and  to  other  Australian  penal  settlements 
had  undoubtedly  the  effect  of  helping  to  accelerate  changes 
in  the  treatment  of  prisoners,  which  make  it  possible  now, 
without  looking  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  British  empire, 
to  look  back  upon  forty  or  fifty  years  ago  as  a  period  of 
barbarism.  They  were  amply  rewarded,  in  their  ov/n 
opinion,  for  the  dangers  and  privations  which  they  in- 
curred on  this  mission,  by  discovering  that  even  among 
felons,  to  whom  murder  was  a  recreation,  there  were 
"  human "  hearts  on  which  sympathy  was  not  wasted, 
and  by  which  religious  conversation  was  properly  and 
indeed  intensely  rehshed.  It  is  the  sobriety  (as  distin- 
guished from  stolidity)  of  Quaker  Christianity,  however, 
which  is  perhaps  its  most  notable  feature  here  at  the 
ends  of  the  earth.  It  appears  as  free  from  excitement  at 
Macquarie  Harbour  as  if  the  occasion  and  the  place  were 
a  First  Day  meeting  at  Newcastle  or  York.  Under  circum- 
stances to  induce  hysteria,  it  preserves  its  resemblance  to 
common  sense,  adheres  to  its  preference  for  "guarded 
expression,"  notes  deficiencies  in  the  scale  of  rations,  at 
the  same  time  that  it  points  the  way  to  heaven;  and,  while 
not  refusing  to  credit  marvellous  instances  of  conversion 
among  convicts  of  the  worst  class,  recognises  in  regard  to 
their  history  and  their  future  the  operation  of  the  law 
of  cause  and  effect — that  law  by  which  it  is  guaranteed 
to  men  and  nations  that  whatsoever  they  sow  that  shall 
they  also  reap.     Other  missionaries  may  sometimes  be 


190  GEORGE  WASUINGTON  WALKER. 

carried  a\Yay  by  a  generous  enthusiasm,  so  as  to  an- 
ticipate from  a  very  small  amount  of  Christian  work 
enormous  results,  such  for  example  as  the  civilisation 
of  a  continent  like  Africa  in  half  a  century,  or  the 
evangelisation  of  a  populous  South-Sea  Island  between 
one  Christmas  and  another.  Our  good  Quakers  at 
Macquarie  Harbour  are  of  the  number  of  those  resolute 
and  rational  friends  of  humanity  who  anticipate  no 
greater  results  from  their  greatest  labours  than  to  see 
the  evil  of  to-day,  which  has  existed  for  ages,  a  little 
lessened  before  to-morrow. 

There  was  at  least  one  Quaker  to  be  found  among 
convicts  before  our  missionaries  visited  Van  Diemen's 
Land.  After  their  return  from  Macquarie  Harbour  to 
Hobart  Town,  a  Quaker  meeting  was  established,  and 
convicts  were  among  the  first  to  become  Quakers. 
Walker  and  his  companion  always  and  everywhere,  in 
the  most  earnest  manner  that  Friends  are  capable  of 
assuming,  disclaimed  sectarian  motives  in  their  religious 
procedure.  They  prayed  fervently  to  be  strengthened 
against  all  temptations  by  which  their  human  weakness 
was  assailed  and  might  be  overcome  on  the  side  of 
sectarianism.  And  their  sincerity  was  demonstrated 
when  convicts  were  invited  into  Quaker  fellowship — 
when  the  disciples  of  Fox  showed  themselves  disciples 
of  Him  who  sat  at  meat  with  publicans  and  sinners. 
Their  meeting  before  long  was  joined  by  colonists  like 
Robert  Mather  (destined  to  be  Walker's  father-in-law), 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  191 

'svhose  presence  would  have  done  honour  to  any  church 
in  Christendom. 

Walker's  journals  are  worth  reprinting.  If  they  were 
reprinted  they  might  be  illustrated,  and  if  illustrated  it 
might  be  by  the  pencil  of  an  artist  alive  to  the  touch  of 
the  humorous  and  the  grotesque,  which  often  accom- 
panies the  sublime  and  serves  to  heighten  its  effect. 
Such  an  artist  would  find  scenes  in  almost  every  chapter 
to  suit  his  taste.  There  is  something  which  tickles  the 
fancy,  as  well  as  something  which  moves  the  heart,  in  the 
idea  of  Quakers  turning  both  cheeks  to  the  smiter,  and 
lifting  up  their  testimony  on  that  subject  in  presence  of 
the  bruisers  and  murderers  of  the  chain-gang  or  of  Mac- 
quarie  Harbour.  It  is  another  sort  of  scene  certainly 
than  that  of  Faust  and  Mephistopheles  in  Auerbach's 
cellar  at  Leipzig,  but  it  is  perhaps  not  much  less  dramatic 
— our  Quaker  missionaries  figuring  on  Flinders  Island 
among  the  few  remaining  natives  of  Van  Diemen's 
Land.  Forty-four  men,  twenty-nine  women,  and  five 
children  had  been  here  collected  by  G.  A.  Robinson — 
the  last  relics  (except  perhaps  about  as  many  still  at 
large  in  the  bush)  of  a  race  which  was  appointed  to  die. 
Many  points  of  extremely  great  interest  emerge  in  the 
Quakers'  account  of  this  now  extinct  variety  of  our 
genus,  but  it  is  impossible  to  glance  even  at  the  most 
interesting.  Their  sympathy  for  the  "  children  of 
nature"  on  this  occasion  cost  Walker  and  his  com- 
panion  no   little   hardship,   and    exposed    them   more 


192  GEORGE  WASHIA'GTON  WALKER. 

than  once  to  serious  danger,  and  yielded  on  the 
whole  results  which  tended  rather  to  melancholy  than 
to  philanthropic  joy.  They  listened  with  pious  satis- 
faction to  stories  illustrative  of  the  goodness  of  the 
natural  black  man,  and  for  what  they  heard  of 
his  occasional  exhibitions  of  human  frailty  in  the 
way  of  domestic  peevishness  and  tyranny  they  had 
various  grave  and  kindly  apologies  to  offer.  They 
were  struck  with  the  humane  arrangements  made  for 
the  dissolution  of  a  species  of  the  human  race,  so  that 
its  latter  end  should  be  as  decent  and  comfortable  as 
possible.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  they  were  undeceived 
as  to  their  pious  sealer  friends  in  regard  to  their  relations 
with  native  women,  and  any  doubts  they  may  have  had 
as  to  the  way  in  which  the  aborigines  were  treated 
before  their  removal  to  Flinders  Island  were  dispersed 
by  proofs  that  the  worst  stories  ever  told  were  but  too 
true. 

The  Quakers  were  of  opinion  that  the  peculiar  free- 
dom or  movement  which  they  enjoyed  as  compared 
with  most  missionaries  was  in  their  favour,  the  free 
exercise  of  individual  intelligence  on  the  part  of  the 
friend  of  humanity  being  of  more  account  in  his  work 
than  any  system  or  method  of  benevolence,  however 
perfect  Be  this  as  it  may,  their  work  as  missionaries 
was  done  in  a  workmanlike  manner  in  whatever  field 
they  entered.  They  had  to  return  to  the  home  of 
the    aborigines   in   Bass's   Straits,    Flinders    Island,    a 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER,  193 

year  after  their  first  visit,  and  they  were  received  with 
shouts  of  welcome  from  a  black  mob  assembled  to 
witness  their  landing.  If  their  errand  was  known, 
the  reflections  of  heathen  minds  on  the  subject  must 
have  been  such  as  would  have  formed,  had  they  been 
recorded,  a  curious  epilogue  to  the  history  of  a  vanished 
race.  Walker  and  his  companion  came  this  time,  as 
before,  in  the  capacity  of  peacemakers ;  but  whereas 
formerly  their  authority  was  from  heaven,  and  their 
errand  was  to  the  blacks,  now  they  came  from  his 
Excellency  the  Governor,  and  their  mission  was  to 
the  whites.  In  a  word,  the  commandant  and  the 
resident  missionary  were  at  war,  and  as  a  last  effort 
in  favour  of  peace  the  Governor  had  sent  the  disciples 
of  Fox  to  deprecate  the  continuance  of  hostilities 
between  English  Christians  and  gentlemen  in  presence 
of  black  men. 

During  the  period  of  their  stay  in  Tasmania,  which 
extended  to  nearly  three  years,  the  comprehensive 
plan  of  work  which  the  Quakers  had  sketched  for 
themselves  on  their  landing  in  the  colony  was  wonder- 
fully accomplished.  Apart  from  Hobart  Town  and 
Launceston,  centres  of  population  separated  from  each 
other  by  the  whole  length  of  the  island,  the  inhabitants 
of  Tasmania  were  thinly  distributed  over  country,  of 
which  one  mountainous  district  vied  with  another  in 
forbidding    travel    except   on   urgent    business.      "  No 

road,    except    on    business,"    might    have    been    seen 

N 


194  GEORGE  IVASHINGTOX  WALKER. 

notified  east,  west,  north,  and  south,  by  travellers  who 
were  not  disposed  to  incur  fatigue  or  not  impelled  to 
run  the  risk  of  losing  themselves  in  almost  pathless 
forests.  East,  west,  north,  south,  the  Friends  trudged 
forth  on  their  benign  and,  to  them,  urgent  business. 
It  was  of  no  use  intimating,  in  the  largest  capitals,  to 
such  travellers,  "No  Thoroughfare."  They  were  of 
the  right  sort  of  fighting  Englishmen — those  who  fight 
difficulties  for  less  than  a  shilling  a  day,  and  don't 
know  when  they  are  beaten.  If  no  better  accommoda- 
tion could  be  found  for  weary  limbs,  they  slept  where 
they  halted,  with  the  sky  for  a  canopy.  Walker  blistered 
his  feet,  and  then  only  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it 
was  hardly  practicable  to  go  any  farther.  He  and  his 
companion  were  seen  in  places  where  no  missionary 
had  been  heard  of  before,  and  left  wholesome  impres- 
sions of  their  sincerity,  good  sense,  and  goodness  upon 
the  minds  of  men  who  had  considered  themselves 
abandoned,  alike  of  God  and  man,  to  solitude,  and 
blasphemy,  and  drink.  There  were  many  colonists 
and  many  convicts  (some  of  them  possibly  still  alive) 
who  for  years  afterwards  dated  all  events  with  reference 
to  the  visit  of  the  Quakers. 

In  a  land  containing  15,000  convicts  they  met  with 
one  solitary  rebuff,  and  it  came  from  a  person  with 
regard  to  whom  they  remark  quaintly,  that  he  seemed 
to  be  "one  of  those  persons  who  are  described  by  an 
inspired  penman  as  'fools  that  make  a  mock  of  sin.'" 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  195 

In  regard  to  the  chief  object  of  their  mission  they 
were  indefatigable  during  those  three  years  spent  in 
Van  Diemen's  Land.  Subsequently  to  their  visit  to 
Macquarie  Harbour,  and  in  compliance  v.ith  his 
Excellency's  request,  they  addressed  a  series  of  reports 
to  the  Governor  respecting  the  condition  of  convicts, 
pointing  out  reforms  which  were  urgently  required, 
especially  adverting  to  the  evils  of  the  system  of 
assigned  servants,  and  conclusively  demonstrating  that 
punishment  was  least  efficacious  where,  as  in  the  chain- 
gang  and  at  Macquarie  Harbour,  it  was  most  revolting 
and  inhuman.  It  may  be  that  they  came  to  the  colony 
with  opinions  on  the  subject  already  formed,  but  if  so 
it  was  to  have  their  convictions  strengthened  by  much 
careful  observation  and  much  painful  experience.  Fla- 
gellation, the  chain-gang,  excessive  doses  of  solitude  and 
darkness,  all  the  worst  horrors  of  an  antiquated  penal 
system,  they  denounced  to  the  Governor,  with  refer- 
ences to  the  law  of  Moses,  which  did  not  perhaps 
appear  to  his  Excellency  perfectly  conclusive,  and  with 
appeals  to  reason  and  experience,  which  seem  to  have 
been  not  altogether  fruitless  either  in  the  colony  or  at 
home.  In  reference  to  flagellation  their  protest  was 
couched  in  terms  of  -eloquent  indignation.  *'  It  is 
calculated,"  they  wrote  to  his  Excellency,  "  to  increase 
desperation  of  character;  it  is  a  part  of  that  abstract 
system  of  vengeance  which  man  is  not  authorised  to 
inflict  upon  man." 


196  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

Besides  Macquarie  Harbour  they  had  visited  Port 
Artnur,  which  was  shortly  to  take  the  place  of  the 
former  as  the  chief  penal  establishment  of  the  island. 
They  had  inspected  the  jails  of  Hobart  Town  and 
Launceston  \  they  had  made  acquaintance,  in  various 
places  besides  Bridgewater,  with  the  chain-gang ;  they 
had  had  more  than  one  meeting  with  Nottman's  gang, 
consisting  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  select  ruffians,  with 
regard  to  whom  the  overseer  informed  them  that  as  a 
rule  they  had  no  belief  in  a  future  state  of  rewards  and 
punishments.  It  was  not,  therefore,  without  having 
been  at  pains  to  know  the  truth,  if  they  fell  into  an 
error  in  protesting  to  Governor  Arthur  that  to  inflict 
"  abstract  "  vengeance  was  a  blunder  worse  than  a 
crime. 

On  leaving  Hobart  Town  the  Quakers  sailed  for 
Botany  Bay,  to  begin  in  New  South  Wales  a  course  of 
labour  like  that  which  they  had  just  finished  in  Van 
Diemen's  I-and.  Their  experience  in  the  one  colony 
was  to  a  large  extent  a  repetition  of  their  career  in  the 
other,  with  perhaps  some  additional  trial  of  their  faith  and 
patience  in  the  form  of  miasmal  fever,  excessive  heat, 
mosquitoes,  and  extended  views  of  human  degradation 
and  misery.  The  oldest  colony  of  the  Australian  group, 
though  now  best  known  by  its  capital,  Sydney,  and  its 
harbour,  more  beautiful  than  the  Bay  of  Naples,  was 
in  those  days  famous  for  a  bay  the  name  of  which 
is    Botany.       In  New  South  Wales   then    our   Quaker 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  tgj 

missionaries,  as  far  as  their  business  was  with  convicts, 
had  arrived  at  head-quarters.  In  coming  from  Tasmania 
to  this  colony  the  scale  of  their  labours  was  altered 
from  that  of  an  island  to  that  of'a  continent — from 
that  of  Ireland  to  that  of  a  third  of  Europe.  The 
penal  settlement,  the  chain-gang,  the  system  of  assigned 
servants,  flogging  in  large  jails,  suffocation  in  small 
lock-ups,  were  all  in  full  swing  here  as  in  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  only  on  a  larger  plan  and  cumbering  more  ground 
called  Christian. 

Our  Quakers  began  their  labours  with  the  penal 
settlement — one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  most 
famous  establishments  of  the  sort  on  which  even  an 
Australian  sun  has  ever  shone.  Norfolk  Island  has 
been  heard  of  on  this  side  of  the  world,  and  is  now 
known  as  the  home  of  the  Pitcairn  islanders;  but  it 
is  only  in  Australia,  and  among  the  survivors  of  a  time 
when  transportation  was  a  crime  committed  to  punish 
crime,  that  the  name  retains  anything  of  the  terrible 
significance  which  it  once  had.  It  is  one  of  the  loveliest 
of  the  lovely  islands  of  the  Pacific,  a  green  and  glorious 
Eden,  the  marvellous  beauty  of  which  could  not  fail 
to  attract  the  attention  of  a  government  which,  in 
transplanting  crime,  made  a  point  of  giving  over  to 
an  ugly  weed  only  the  fairest  scenes.  Still  more 
than  in  the  case  of  Botany  Bay  or  Van  Diemen's- 
Land,  an  island  which  combines  rare  grandeur  and 
loveliness  with  the  perfection  of  climate,  what  sin  did 


igS  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

when  Norfolk  Island  was  made  a  penal  settlement,  was 
to  enter  into  Paradise  and  take  possession  of  it  in  the 
name  of  the  British  Government.  Norfolk  Island  had 
one  thing  besides  its  beauty  to  fit  it  for  being  the  abode 
of  crime  and  m.isery — escape  from  it  was  impossible. 
More  than  a  thousand  miles  distant  from  the  Australian 
shore,  and  surrounded  by  a  reef  in  which  there  was  but 
one  opening,  and  that  a  narrow  and  dangerous  one,  it 
was  the  Macquarie  Harbour  of  New  South  Wales  in 
point  of  dread  security  as  well  as  other  terrible 
aspects.  "  It  was  Macquarie  Harbour  over  again," 
so  the  Quakers  tell  us,  "  with  an  extra  shade  of  dark- 
ness superadded." 

Everything  was  done  on  Sarah's  Island,  Macquarie 
Harbour,  to  give  to  the  life  of  the  prisoner  a  dull, 
monotonous,  depressing  hue,  like  that  of  the  sombre 
hills  and  forests  by  which  he  found  himself  surrounded. 
On  Norfolk  Island  the  art  was  understood  and  exercised 
of  making  the  misery  of  man's  evil  days  an  effective 
contrast  to  the  beauty,  and  glory,  and  luxuriance  with 
which  he  was  encompassed.  *'  Where  every  prospect 
pleases,  and  only  man  is  vile,"  had  an  application  to 
Norfolk  Island  such  as  never  presented  itself  to  Heber's 
imagination,  such  as  Ceylon  with  its  "  spicy  breezes,"  or 
Africa  with  its  "  sunny  fountains,"  never  furnished.  All 
vegetation  was  tropical ;  tropical,  too,  was  the  growth  of 
the  ugly  weed  sent  over  seas  by  the  British  Government 
to  Botany  Bay,  and  then  transplanted  afresh  to  the  soil 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  199 

of  this  island.  All  that  was  good  for  food  and  pleasant 
to  the  eye  abounded  to  excess  ;  superabundant,  too,  was 
the  profusion  of  all  that  is  .hateful  and  horrible  in  the 
form  of  sin  and  misery.  It  was  found  impossible  to 
extirpate  the  orange-tree,  though  the  attempt  was  made 
to  deprive  a  harsh  fate  of  the  alleviation  which  its  fruit 
afforded.  It  is  impossible  to  allude  to  the  fruits  of  that 
forbidden  tree,  whose  mortal  taste  brought  death  into 
the  world,  which  were  here  as  plentiful  as  oranges.  As 
had  happened  to  them  on  their  visit  to  Macquarie 
Harbour,  so  on  their  arrival  at  Norfolk  Island  the 
Quakers  found  that  they  were  just  too  late  to  witness 
the  last  point  to  which  inhuman  severity  could  be 
carried  out  at  a  penal  settlement.  They  were  in  time> 
however,  to  see  and  to  hear  enough  of  the  island  to  be 
able  to  understand  why,  in  spite  of  its  spicy  breezes,  its 
name  had  become  "infamous."  Just  before  their  visit, 
one  of  the  colonial  judges  before  whom  prisoners  came 
for  sentence  involving  transportation  to  Norfolk  Island, 
made  this  public  declaration,  "  That  it  brought  tears  to 
his  eyes  when  a  Norfolk  Island  convict  brought  before 
him  for  sentence,  said,  'Let  a  man  be  what  he  will, 
when  he  comes  here  he  will  soon  be  as  bad  as  the  rest ; 
a  man's  heart  is  taken  from  him,  and  there  is  given  him 
the  heart  of  a  beast.'  " 

"  Evil,  be  thou  my  good,"  was  the  language  of  Norfolk 
Island,  as  of  a  place  to  which  it  might  be  supposed  to 
bear  only  too  close  a  resemblance.     Evidence  on  this 


20O  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

point  was  given  before  a  committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  by  Dr.  Ullathorne,  Roman  Catholic  priest  of 
Sydney,  which  Walker  was  careful  to  preserve  in  his 
"clear  and  beautiful  hand."  Good  men,  whose  con- 
science did  not  suffer  them  to  conform  to  universal 
custom  as  regards  the  use  of  the  second  personal 
pronoun  plural,  the  Quakers,  heard  at  Norfolk  Island  of 
a  perversion  of  language  which  argued  an  immeasurable 
depravity  of  mind.  A  convict,  in  Dr.  UUathorne's  hear- 
ing, called  another  convict  a  good  man.  The  priest  was 
surprised,  and  asked  a  question,  which  elicited  the 
information  that  in  general,  and  according  to  the  ethics 
of  the  island,  a  bad  man  was  called  good,  and  a  man 
who  was  ready  to  perform  his  duty,  or  any  part  thereof, 
was  called  a  bad  man.  "  There  was  a  whole  vocabulary 
of  terms  of  that  kind,  which  seemed  to  have  been  in- 
vented to  adapt  themselves  to  the  complete  subversion 
of  the  human  heart." 

This  was  a  fact  which  it  was  incumbent  upon  Friend 
Walker  to  record  with  care  in  his  best  style  of  penman- 
ship. There  was  much  of  the  same  sort  of  information 
to  be  had  with  which  to  enrich  the  pages  of  his  journal. 
Here,  as  at  Macquarie  Harbour,  death  in  another  than 
the.  Christian  sense  was  gain ;  here,  even  more  thoroughly 
than  in  the  Tasmanian  settlement,  the  ruflSan  whose 
crimes  were  monstrous  was  at  one  with  the  saints  and 
heroes  of  Christian  history  in  his  longing  to  depart.  The 
most  horrible  scene  that  the  good  priest,  whose  name 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  201 

has  been  mentioned,  ever  saw,  was  one  which  he 
witnessed  on  Norfolk  Island,  and  it  was  a  scene,  so  to 
speak,  not  of  murder,  but  of  deathbed  resignation  and 
departing  ecstasy.  Twenty-four  men  (perhaps  because 
it  was  convenient  to  reckon  by  dozens)  were  sentenced 
to  death  as  mutineers.  The  priest  was  sent  from  Sydney 
to  administer  the  consolations  of  religion  to  thirteen  of 
these,  and  to  inform  the  rest  that  they  were  reprieved. 
As  the  names  were  read  out,  not  the  eleven  who  were 
reprieved,  but  the  thirteen  who  were  to  die,  dropped 
down,  man  by  man,  upon  his  knees  and  gave  thanks  to 
the  Eternal  Mercy  that  His  salvation  had  visited  them. 

Down  with  this  fact  in  thy  journal.  Friend  Walker, 
and  let  it  remain  there  for  a  testimony — against  whom 
need  not  be  said — but,  at  anyrate,  against  man's  in- 
humanity to  man. 

It  was  at  Norfolk  Island,  at  the  end  of  a  visit  of  two 
months'  duration,  that  the  Quakers  received  the  address 
to  which  allusion  has  been  made,  beginning,  "  We,  the 
prisoners  of  the  Crown  embracing  the  tenets  of  the 
Protestant  faith."  Partly,  perhaps,  because  with  all 
their  gravity  they  were  not  devoid  of  humour,  the 
Friends  would  fain  have  been  spared  this  testimony  to 
the  worth  and  success  of  their  labours ;  but  they  were 
gentlemen,  and  lest  they  should  seem  to  slight  a  kind- 
ness, which  was  all  that  Protestantism  in  reduced  cir- 
cumstances had  to  offer  them,  they  accepted  it.  It 
had  cost  them  a  disagreeable  voyage  of  three  weeks' 


202  GEORGE   WASfllXGTON  WALKER. 

duration  to  reach  the  island.  They  had  a  narrow 
escape  from  drowning,  as  they  swung  in  their  boat  on 
the  edge  of  the  reef  which  guarded  the  approach  to 
an  ocean  prison,  whose  walls  were  inaccessible  basaltic 
cliffs.  Not  without  much  fatigue  and  hardship,  perhaps 
not  without  blistered  feet,  certainly  not  without  aching 
hearts,  they  had  followed  the  prisoners  of  the  Crown 
embracing  the  Protestant  faith  into  the  depths  of  the 
narrow  and  sultry  valleys  winding  among  the  mountains 
of  which  the  island  consists,  and  had  noted  how  the 
vertical  sun  under  which  they  worked  had  obliged  them 
to  dispense  with  clothes,  and  imparted  to  their  skins 
a  hue  resembling  that  of  negroes.  They  had  seen 
the  flower  and  crown  of  forest  loveliness,  the  Norfolk 
Island  pine,  flourish  along  the  ridges  of  hills  the  sides 
of  which  were  covered  with  a  jungle  of  fruit-trees,  the 
orange,  the  lemon,  the  guava;  and  these  features  of 
a  paradise  in  the  Pacific  had  only  served  to  deepen  in 
their  minds  the  sadness  of  the  reflections  which  were 
suggested  by  the  fact  of  Protestants  not  being  allowed 
the  use  of  knives  and  forks,  and  being  restricted  to  the 
use  of  spoons,  lest  they  should  murder  each  other  with 
any  weapon  except  the  regular  hoe.  Here,  however,  in 
this  complimentary  address  from  the  almost  negro-hued 
Protestantism  of  the  island,  was  their  reward  ;  as  much 
of  a  reward,  perhaps,  as  the  friends  of  humanity  have 
any  right  to  expect;  a  sign  that  possibly  earnest  and 
faithful  work  has  not  been  altogether  thrown  away  ;  a 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  203 

token  that  possibly  the  day  is  yet  coming  when  the 
wilderness  shall  somehow  blossom  as  the  rose. 


III. 

Inclusive  of  their  visit  to  Norfolk  Island,  the  mission 
of  the  Quakers  to  New  South  Wales  (of  which  Queens- 
land and  Victoria  were  then  outlying  portions)  occupied 
them  over  two  years.  The  thoroughness  with  which 
their  work  was  done  was  not  altered  by  the  scale  of  their 
labours  being  changed  from  that  of  an  island  to  that  of 
a  continent  Wandering  not  among  the  ruins  of  empire, 
but  among  the  foundations  of  cities  and  commonwealths 
just  rising  above  ground,  they  were  known  by  their  broad- 
brims and  their  zeal  for  human  wellbeing  as  far  north 
as  Moreton  Bay,  as  far  south  as  that  part  of  the  bush 
which  is  now  the  city  of  Melbourne,  and  to  almost  every 
settlement,  large  and  small,  and  nearly  every  lonely  hut 
between  these  points.  As  in  Tasmania  so  in  New  South 
Wales,  their  idea  of  visiting  the  colony  was  to  enter  not 
only  into  every  town  and  village,  but,  as  far  as  possible, 
into  every  house.  They  did  not  finally  take  leave  of 
Sydney,  which  has  now  a  population  of  one  hundred 
thousand,  and  was  then  a  considerable  city,  until  they 
had  gone  from  door  to  door  giving  notice  of  their  meet- 
ings. Their  object  being  to  call  the  city  and  the  colony 
to  repentance,  not  to  extend  the  influence  of  a  sect,  the 
primitive  practice  of  a  household  visitation  recommended 


204  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  IVALKER. 

itself  to  them  as  preferable  to  more  sensational  and  less 
laborious  methods  of  making  their  object  known.  To 
their  credit,  as  well  as  not  a  little  to  the  honour  of  the 
colonial  clergy,  when  they  entered  into  other  men's 
labours,  as  was  to  a  certain  extent  unavoidable  in  Sydney 
and  other  places,  they  did  so  without  provoking  any 
jealousy  or  wrath.  As  in  other  cases,  so  in  the  instance 
of  G.  W.  Walker  and  his  companion,  it  was  noticeable 
that  Quakers,  whose  differences  with  the  rest  of  the  Pro- 
testant world  could  be  shown  to  be  greater  than  those  of 
any  one  part  of  it  with  any  other,  had  no  difficulty  in 
establishing  friendly  relations  with  the  representatives  of 
sects  between  whom  there  was  the  bond  of  an  almost 
identical  creed,  and  the  antipathy  which  too  often  accom- 
panies that  bond.  Either  as  the  reward  of  their  having 
suffered  much  in  past  times  for  righteousness'  sake,  or  as 
the  result  of  their  peculiar  garb  and  speech  being  identi- 
fied rather  with  prison  reform  and  humane  treatment  of 
the  insane,  than  with  disputes  about  infant  baptism  or 
the  eastward  position  of  the  celebrant,  the  Quakers 
would  seem  to  have  the  privilege  of  differing  with  all 
churches,  and,  indeed,  in  a  mild  way,  of  excommunicat- 
ing them  all,  and  at  the  same  time  of  being  permitted 
peaceably  to  do  what  they  can  to  benefit  mankind.  It  is 
doubtful  if  there  ever  was  in  appearance  a  more  pro- 
vincial figure  than  that  of  the  disciple  of  George  Fox 
before  the  days  of  his  conformity  to  the  world — the 
Quaker  of  preceding  generations,  with  his  broad-brim. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  205 

and  his  jargon  more  uncouth  than  his  hat.  Yet  in  virtue 
of  his  consistent  and  determined  bearing  as  a  friend  of 
humanity,  amenable  in  his  conduct  and  activity  to  the 
rule  of  reason  as  well  as  that  of  the  Scriptures,  the  old- 
fashioned  Quaker,  with  his  coat  cut  in  the  style  of 
William  Penn's  and  his  pigeon  EngHsh,  would  seem  to 
be  the  most  cosmopolitan  character  in  religious  history. 
Walker's  journals,  especially  his  entries  relative  to 
Sydney,  suggest  some  such  reflections  as  to  the  Friends 
and  their  relation  to  other  Christians. 

Old  Samuel  Marsden,  the  father  of  Church  missions 
in  Australia,  famous  for  his  labours  and  adventures  and 
successes  in  New  Zealand,  still  held  his  post  of  colonial 
chaplain,  and  still,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  retained  those 
scruples  about  meeting  convicts  in  society,  for  which  he 
was  mercilessly  chastised  by  the  wit  of  Sydney  Smith. 
But  even  old  Samuel  Marsden,  like  the  rest  of  the 
colonial  clergy  of  all  denominations,  in  spite  of  the 
connection,  historical  and  actual,  between  Quakers  and 
convicts,  had  a  hearty  welcome  to  give  the  Friends,  and, 
indeed,  did  much  to  further  their  mission,  especially 
by  fostering  the  interest  taken  in  it  by  his  Excellency  the 
Governor  of  New  South  Wales, 

A  serious  and  resolute  attempt  to  conquer  an  empire 
rather  than  a  province  for  pure  and  undefiled  Chris- 
tianity, for  righteousness,  temperance,  and  peace,  the 
mission  of  the  Friends  in  New  South  Wales  is  a  fact 
the   historical   interest   of   which    is   in   some   respects 


2o6  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

unique.  When  the  epoch  of  village  politics,  in  which 
the  question  of  dividing  the  village  common  is  para- 
mount, has  come  to  an  end  in  the  Australian  colonies, 
and  when  the  laws  that  govern  the  intercourse  of  nations 
have  superseded  the  legislative  tricks  and  reprisals  of 
parochially-minded  parliaments,  Australia  will  undoubt- 
edly have  to  be  reckoned  among  the  great  empires  of 
the  world.  It  will  be  curious  then,  no  doubt,  for  the 
historian  of  Australia  to  recall  to  mind  the  fact  that 
two  unpaid  missionaries  in  Quaker  garb  undertook  the 
task  of  perambulating  it.  New  Testament  in  hand,  from 
north  to  south,  and  from  east  to  west,  and  accomplished 
their  undertaking.  No  Christian  nation  in  the  world, 
perhaps,  can  look  back  to  a  time  when  it  was  treated  as 
a  parish,  and  when  every  inhabitant  of  the  parish  was 
known  to  have  been  personally  canvassed  for  his  vote 
and  influence  in  favour  of  peace  on  earth,  good-will 
among  men.  Australia,  when  it  attains  the  fulfilment 
of  its  destiny  as  the  United  States  of  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere, will  be  able  to  refer  to  such  a  period  in  its 
history.  When  that  time  comes,  if  the  memory  of 
James  Backhouse  and  G.  W.  Walker  is  revived,  as  no 
doubt  it  will  be,  the  fact,  perhaps,  will  not  be  over- 
looked that  their  mission  was,  above  all,  to  the  outcasts 
from  the  Christian  society  of  the  Old  World,  the  acknow- 
ledged failures  of  Christian  civilisation  in  Europe ;  and 
the  remembrance  of  the  fact  may  perhaps  help  to  guide 
the  course  of  civilisation  and  of  Christianity  under  the 


GEORGE  IVASHIXGTON  WALKER.  -zo^ 

southern  cross.  A  new  empire,  in  which  the  mission  of 
Quakers  to  convicts  is  an  important  date,  may  possibly 
have  an  example  to  show  to  older  Christian  communities 
of  how  to  treat  criminals,  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  may 
have  something  to  teach  them,  in  regard  to  crime,  in  the 
way  of  substituting  prevention  for  punishment. 

The  year  1835,  in  which  the  Quakers  began  their 
labours  in  New  South  Wales,  saw  Batman,  and  after  him 
J.  P.  Fawkner,  arrive  at  Port  Phillip  from  Tasmania,  and 
unconsciously  found  the  colony  of  Victoria  and  its 
splendid  capital,  Melbourne.  With  Batman,  Walker 
and  Backhouse  had  made  acquaintance  during  their 
travels  in  Tasmania,  and  it  was  no  doubt  rather  the 
interest  which  they  took  in  the  proceedings  of  a  friend, 
than  any  anticipation  of  the  future  of  Port  Phillip  and  of 
Melbourne,  which  led  them  to  record  in  their  journals 
**  the  following  rare  example  of  justice  in  deahng  with 
the  aborgines  "  : — "  In  the  *  Sydney  Herald '  of  the  6th 
inst.  it  is  mentioned  that  J.  Batman,  with  the  assistance 
of  three  Sydney  blacks,  whom  we  saw  at  his  house,  has 
purchased  from  a  native  tribe  in  the  vicinity  of  Port 
Phillip  a  tract  of  land  of  about  five  hundred  thousand 
acres.  The  payment  consisted,  in  part,  of  one  hundred 
blankets,  tomahawks,  knives,  flour,  &:c.,  and  it  was  agreed 
that  a  certain  quantity  of  food,  clothing,  and  arms  was  to 
be  paid  each  year  to  the  amount  of  about  ;^2oo  sterling. 
This  novel  example  of  equitable  arrangement  with  the 
aboriginal  possessors  of  the  soil  will  be  hailed  with  satis- 


2o8  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

faction  by  every  friend  of  humanity."  Perhaps  the 
reader  of  this  entry  in  the  Quaker's  journal  may  be 
pardoned  for  being  less  struck  with  the  equity  of  the 
arrangement  than  with  the  fact  that  it  was  made  only 
some  forty  years  ago,  and  that  since  then  the  hunting- 
grounds  of  the  aborigines  of  Port  Phillip  have  become 
the  Brightons  and  Folkestones  of  the  wealthy  citizens  of 
Melbourne. 

In  the  year  1835  there  must  have  been,  in  the  "  sailor- 
king's"  navy,  ships  sometime  out  of  commission,  from 
which  it  would  not  have  been  difficult  to  select  one 
for  a  voyage  to  the  Antipodes.  There  must  have  been 
in  that  year  in  England  a  great  many  officers  of  the 
army  and  navy  on  half  pay,  ex-diplomatists,  sinecurists, 
non-resident  clergy  and  bishops  of  small  dioceses,  of 
whom  one  or  two  might  have  been  appointed  to  sail 
in  that  vessel,  and  to  see  how  the  experiment  of  calling 
a  new  world  of  criminals  into  existence  to  redress  the 
balance  of  the  old  was  going  to  succeed.  But,  as  if 
to  show  how  much  room  the  noblest  political  organisa 
tions  in  the  world,  and  the  best  ecclesiastical  institutions, 
will  always  leave  for  the  friend  of  humanity  to  occupy 
on  his  own  account  and  at  his  own  expense,  it  was  left 
to  Hawden  Bragg's  apprentice  and  his  companion  to 
discover  in  the  southern  hemisphere  more  than  one 
Black  Hole  of  Calcutta  the  property  of  his  Most 
Gracious  Majesty,  "At  Campbell  Town,  a  village  in 
the  midst  of  beautiful  English-like  scenery,"  they  came 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  209 

upon  a  jail  such  as  it  would  be  difficult  to  match  among 
government  properties  in  despotic  or  even  barbarous 
countries.  Walker  had  his  yard-tape  with  him, 
measured  the  principal  ward,  and  noted  the  dimen- 
sions in  his  journal,  2o\  feet  by  i2|,  height  8  feet. 
A  wine-vault  beneath  the  police-office  or  court-house 
had  been  converted  into  a  prison  which  consisted  of 
this  dungeon  and  five  solitary  cells,  lighted  and  venti- 
lated only  with  a  few  small  air-holes  opening  on  the 
road,  and  only  to  be  explored  in  the  daytime  with  a 
lamp.  Here  as  many  as  sixty  persons  being  confined 
at  one  time,  the  effect  on  certain  occasions,  when  the 
climate  of  Campbell  Town  was  more  than  usually  like 
that  of  Calcutta,  was  that  the  magistrates,  sitting  above, 
were  driven  away  from  the  seats  of  justice,  while  the 
suffocated  prisoners  had  to  be  carried  out  at  intervals 
to  have  a  chance  of  recovery,  which  it  was  almost  a 
doubtful  act  of  humanity  to  give  them. 

The  huts  of  the  chain-gang  working  on  the  road  were 
surrounded  with  a  wooden  fence,  and  hence  the  name 
of  stockade  applied  to  a  cluster  of  these  huts.  At 
Maitland  the  Quakers  visited  the  Iron  Gang  stockade, 
Walker  with  his  measure  and  note-book  in  hand.  This 
roadside  bastile  consisted  of  huts  set  on  wheels,  and 
intended  to  accommodate  twenty  men  each.  Their 
measure  was  taken,  and  it  was  found  to  be  7^  feet  by 
14,  with  6  feet  of  height,  thus  allowing  one  foot  and  a 
half  of  space  for  each  of  the  twenty  inmates  as  they  lay 


210  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

side  by  side  on  wooden  shelves.  In  the  judgment  of 
our  unpaid  inspectors  of  penal  establishments,  confine- 
ment in  these  cages  from  six  in  the  evening  till  six  in 
the  morning,  especially  during  hot  Australian  weather, 
must  have  entailed  "a  considerable  amount  of  distress." 
Whether  the  amount  of  distress  was  in  excess  of  the 
demands  of  justice  was  a  matter  which  was  not  nicely 
calculated  with  regard  to  the  stockade  any  more  than 
with  respect  to  the  penal  settlement.  It  was  not  dealt 
out  by  weight  at  either  place  like  the  daily  rations.  On 
the  whole,  Walker  concluded  that  if  there  was  excess  it 
was  greatest  on  the  side  of  the  stockade.  "  Were  I  a 
prisoner,"  he  says,  "and  had  my  choice  between  a 
stockade  and  a  penal  settlement,  I  should  decidedly 
prefer  the  latter;"  which  reflection,  considering  he  had 
sailed  through  the  Gates  of  evil  name  into  Macquarie 
Harbour,  and  that  he  had  seen  Norfolk  feland,  may 
be  taken  to  mean  that  it  was  time  for  the  friend  of 
humanity  to  appear  at  the  Iron  Gang  stockade  with  his 
yard-tape  and  his  note-book. 

Among  chain-gangs  in  New  South  Wales,  one  at 
Marulan  held  the  place  which  was  conceded  to  Nott- 
man's  in  Tasmania — for  incorrigible  wickedness.  The 
Quakers  walked  twenty-three  miles  one  day  in  the  month 
of  February,  probably  a  day  too  warm  for  the  comfort 
of  travellers,  and  found  the  men  of  this  gang  drawn 
up  before  the  hut  on  religious  parade.  It  was  a 
"  relieving  season  of  labour  "  to  Walker's  mind,  though 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  an 

the  audience  seemed  almost  as  little  hopeful  as  any  he 
had  seen.  The  lieutenant  in  command  mentioned  that 
in  a  gang  consisting  of  seventy  men  two  hundred  and 
sixty  cases  of  flagellation  had  occurred  in  the  course 
of  sixteen  months,  or  about  four  weekly.  One  back 
had  received  nine  hundred  lashes.  The  Quakers  were 
much  impressed  with  what  they  heard,  and  still  more 
with  what  they  saw.  They  had  noticed  often  before 
the  malformation  of  the  heads  of  prisoners.  Here  it 
was  more  marked  than  they  had  ever  before  seen  it. 
And  perhaps  this  helped  to  make  the  occasion  of  his 
visit  a  "relieving  one"  to  the  mind  of  a  friend  of 
humanity  like  G.  W.  Walker.  Idiocy  has  no  other 
pleasing  effect,  but  it  does  serve  to  soften  the  harsh 
features  of  crime. 

The  Quakers,  in  fulfilling  their  mission  to  convicts, 
were  struck  with  the  resemblance  between  the  heads 
of  the  criminals  and  those  of  idiots.  Philanthropists, 
whose  mission  has  been  specially  to  the  insane,  have 
been  impressed  with  the  same  family  likeness.  Sir 
Robert  Officer,  of  Tasmania,  to  whom  the  Quakers 
refer  in  terms  of  grateful  respect,  will  pardon  an  old 
friend  for  naming  him  as  one  of  these  philanthropists, 
one  who,  from  his  long  official  connection  with  the 
Colonial  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  has  been  obliged  to 
devote  a  keen  intelligence  to  the  study  of  the  heads  of 
madmen,  and  who  has  had  rare  opportunities  in  Van 
Diemen's  Land  of  comparing  the  outward  lineaments 


212  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

of  idiocy  and  of  crime.  His  testimony,  given  from  the 
side  of  the  hospital,  is  emphatic  as  to  the  truth  of  the 
testimony  deUvered  by  the  Quakers  from  the  interior 
of  the  jail.  Neither  science  nor  humanity  has  spoken 
its  last  word  as  to  the  connection  between  crime  and 
insanity. 

The  patronage  of  the  Governor  of  New  South  Wales 
was  invaluable  to  the  Quaker  missionaries,  especially 
as  regards  their  journeys  and  voyages  to  the  more 
remote  districts  of  the  colony.  INIoreton  Bay,  then  a 
small  penal  settlement  which  was  to  grow  into  Brisbane, 
the  capital  of  Queensland,  was  the  hmit  of  their  travels 
northward.  They  were  allowed  a  passage  and  rations 
on  board  the  Government  schooler  going  to  the  settle- 
ment, and  the  vessel,  for  their  sole  convenience,  was 
ordered  to  call  at  Port  Macquarie,  another  penal 
establishment  on  the  way.  On  board  the  schooner 
the  friend  of  humanity's  measuring  tape  was  once  more 
found  to  be  an  indispensable  part  of  his  equipment. 
There  were  forty-one  convicts  on  board,  linked  together 
by  a  long  chain  passing  over  the  fetters  of  the  ankles, 
and  confined  to  a  jail  in  the  hold,  in  a  nearly  tropical 
climate,  at  the  hottest  season  of  the  year,  without  water 
and  almost  without  room  to  change  their  position. 
This  floating  Black  Hole,  carrying  the  meteor  flag  of 
England,  was  found  to  measure  18  feet  by  16  feet. 
Walker,  in  recording  the  fact,  ventures  to  express  the 
opinion  that  "the  debasing  effect  upon  the  mind"  of 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER,  213 

confinement  in  such  a  place  was  not  likely  to  be  the 
smallest  part  of  the  mischief  attending  it. 

About  four  hundred  prisoners  constituted  the  principal 
part  of  the  population  of  the  capital  of  Queensland,  and 
the  treadmill  was  the  principal  object  of  interest  to 
visitors.  Here  again  the  Quaker  inspectors  of  jails 
found  that  punishment  was  meted  out  to  crime  rather 
with  profuse  liberality  than  with  nice  discrimination. 
They  found  the  climate  outside  the  treadmill  tropical, 
and  learning  that  the  chain-gang  inside  had  to  lift  their 
feet  three  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty  times  with- 
out change,  they  could  not  help  considering  that  the 
sufferings  of  fat  men  must  be  excessive.  Men  of  the 
type  of  Cassius  might  be  the  greatest  villains  on  the 
wheel,  but  their  punishment  in  sultry  weather  was  hght 
compared  with  that  of  corpulent  felons,  whose  misdeeds 
were  comparatively  trivial. 

One  journey  on  which  Walker  and  his  companion  had 
to  endure  much  fatigue,  was  that  which  they  made  in 
the  direction  of  WelUngton  Valley,  two  hundred  miles 
north-west  of  Sydney,  the  seat  of  a  mission  to  the 
natives.  The  former  suffered  severely  on  the  road 
from  cramps,  which  he  had  too  much  inward  light  or 
common  sense  to  regard  in  any  other  way  than  as  a 
gentle  "  rebuke "  for  breaking  the  laws  of  health  by 
excessive  exertion.  Walker  and  his  companion  did 
not  readily  credit  accounts  of  the  total  depravity  of 
human  nature.     They  saw  reason,  as  they  fancied,  to 


214  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

distrust  such  accounts  in  the  instance  of  the  most 
hardened  convicts.  But  what  they  heard  and  saw  of 
the  blacks  at  Wellington  Valley  convinced  them  that 
something  •  very  like  utter  depravity  was  possible. 
What  has  been  the  history  of  almost  every  attempt  to 
civilise  the  natives  of  Australia  repeated  itself  here, 
with  perhaps  some  aggravations  of  disappointment  to 
the  philanthropist.  A  party  of  native  youths  would 
assemble  at  the  mission  house  to  be  taught  reading  and 
instructed  in  the  Christian  faith.  "They  would  eat 
voraciously  of  the  provisions  set  before  them,  smoke 
as  much  tobacco  as  they  could  get,"  receive  as  little 
education  as  possible,  and  in  a  few  days  get  tired  of 
civilisation  and  Christianity,  and  find  an  excuse  for 
decamping  into  the  bush,  either  in  a  friend's  illness 
or  an  important  engagement,  or,  not  unlikely,  in  the 
missionary's  refusal  to  supply  Billy  or  Bob  with  a  new 
pipe. 

Much  more  pleasing  and  satisfactory  than  the  visit  to 
Wellington  Valley  was  that  which  the  Quakers  made  to 
an  outlandish  place  midway  between  the  Green  Hills 
and  Newcastle.  Their  object  on  this  occasion  recalls  the 
parable  of  the  lost  sheep  in  yet  another  form  than  any  in 
which  the  story  of  their  travels  may  already  have  brought 
it  to  mind.  An  elderly  man  who  had  once  been  a 
Quaker  was  here  in  the  position  of  an  assigned  servant. 
This  old  convict  paid  a  compUment  to  the  Christianity 
of  his  brethren  which  not  every  form  of  Christianity  has 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  215 

deserved  by  its  treatment  of  the  fallen,  if  he  expected 
that  any  of  them  would  leave  the  society  of  the  ninety 
and  nine  respectable  Quakers,  who  needed  no  salvation, 
and  would  come  into  the  wilderness  to  see  whether  he 
could  not  be  brought  to  repentance.  But  whether  unex- 
pectedly or  not,  the  satisfaction  of  finding  that  he  was 
not  forgotten  by  the  fellowship  to  which  his  career  had 
been  no  credit,  was  in  store  for  him.  The  missionaries 
had  much  friendly  conversation  with  their  erring  brother, 
and  at  a  meeting  of  assigned  servants  to  which  they 
preached  the  gospel  of  forgiveness  and  charity,  he  was 
moved  to  make  *'  a  feeling  allusion  to  the  solemnity  of 
the  occasion,"  and  to  signify  to  his  fellow-servants  that, 
in  his  opinion,  it  was  good  to  refrain  from  evil.  Walker's 
final  entry  with  regard  to  him  in  his  journal  is  not  with- 
out pathos.  *'  The  wanderer  above  alluded  to  accom- 
panied us  some  miles,  and  at  parting  we  had  a  solemn 
season  as  we  extended  some  counsel  in  a  few  words, 
under  the  renewed  feeling  of  the  love  of  our  Heavenly 
Father,  which  would  gather  all  into  the  garner  of  rest 
and  peace."  Perhaps,  on  one  not  untenable  view  of  the 
meaning  of  the  parable  of  the  lost  sheep,  and  of  much  of 
the  primitive  gospel,  it  might  appear  to  have  been  worth 
while  for  the  Newcastle  Quaker  to  travel  to  the  Anti- 
podes, and  into  a  aesert  place  between  Newcastle  and 
the  Green  Hills,  only  in  order  to  share  this  "solemn 
season  "  with  a  fallen  brother. 

Gross  evils  connected  with  the  system  of  disposing  of 


2i6  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

convicts  as  assigned  servants  came  under  the  notice  of 
the  Quakers  in  New  South  Wales,  as  formerly  in  Tas- 
mania.    Drunkenness  and  all  manner  of  vice  and  crime 
were    skilfully    promoted    by   a   regulation    permitting 
masters  to  pay  prisoner- servants  a  third  of  their  wages 
in  drink.     In  case  the  solitude  of  bush  life  should  have 
any  tendency  to  repress  criminal  instincts  and  to  check 
criminal   habits,   convicts    were    required  to   attend   a 
monthly  muster,  at  which  it  was  certain  that  drink  and 
evil  communications  would  have  the  result  of  providing 
fresh  material  for  the  chain-gang  and  the  penal  settle- 
ment.    In  the  fewest  instances  were  any  pains  taken  by 
settlers   to   encourage   prisoner-servants    in   well-doing. 
As  a  rule,  the  effect  of  families  being  served  by  ticket- 
of-leave   was  the   rapid   deterioration   of  character   on 
both  sides.     Walker  writes  that  the  colonial  youth  whom 
he  saw  at  more  than  one  place  were  not  of  a  hopeful 
aspect  as  regards  physique,  intelligence,  or  morals.     He 
was  disposed  to  attribute  the  fact  partly  to  climate  and 
much  more  to  intercourse  with  a  class  of  servants  with 
regard  to  whom,  as  has  been  seen,  "the  malformation 
of  the  head "  was  a  constant  subject  of  remark  on  his 
part  and  on  that  of  his  companion. 

With  their  experience  of  upwards  of  two  years'  travel 
in  New  South  Wales,  added  to  their  intimate  knowledge 
of  convict  life  in  Tasmania,  the  Friends  were  able  to 
speak  with  an  authority  all  their  own  in  regard  to  trans- 
ported felons.     On  that  subject  it  may  be  safely  asserted 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  217 

that  no  two   men  living  were  better  qualified  to  give 
advice  to  the  British  Government  than  James  Backhouse 
and   George   Washington   Walker.      Their   advice    was 
actually  in  due  form  imparted  to  Parliament,  and  was 
not,  it  may  be  assumed,  without  effect  upon  the  course  of 
legislation.     Returning  for  a  brief  period  to  Tasmania, 
after  once  more  and  finally  subjecting  Sydney  to  house- 
hold visitation  in  the  interest  of  righteousness,  temper- 
ance, and  peace,  they  found  a  new  governor  in  power 
in  the  colony,  and,  of  course,  a  new  private  secretary 
attending   the   governor.      The   former   was    Sir    John 
Franklin ;   the  latter.  Captain  Maconochie,  the  prison 
reformer;   and  from  both  of  these  distinguished  men 
the    Quakers    received   a   cordial   welcome.      Captain 
Maconochie,  in  drawing  up  the  well-known  report  on 
the  subject  of  convict  discipline  in  the  colonies,  which 
was  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons,  was  indebted 
to  the  Quaker  missionaries  for  valuable  assistance,  of 
which  he  made  acknowledgment  in  these  terms  :  "  The 
well-known  and  highly-respected  Quakers,  James  Back- 
house and  George  Washington  Walker,  who  have  been 
above  five  years   in   the   penal   settlements,   observing 
closely  the  operation  of  their  existing  constitution,  not 
only  cordially  agree  with  the  views  which  I  have  here 
attempted  to  explain  regarding  it,  but  also  with  those 
I  entertain  for  its  amelioration.     They  have  accordingly 
given   me  a  testimony  to  this  effect,  which  I  subjoin, 
and  also  placed  their  MS.  journals  and  reports  in  my 


2i3  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

hands  that  I  may  select  whatever  passages  I  may  find 
in  them  to  my  purpose.  I  feel  extremely  indebted  for 
this  kindness,  and  avail  myself  of  it  gladly." 

A  royal  commission  existing  for  the  same  number  of 
years,  travelling  over  the  same  ground,  and  performing 
the  same  work,  would  have  cost  England  a  good  deal 
more  than  the  rations  on  board  a  convict  schooner  with 
which  the  Friends  were  several  times  provided  at  the 
expense  of  the  State.  It  would  have  cost  more,  done 
less,  done  it  not  so  well,  and  yet  perhaps  would  have 
received  the  thanks  of  both  Houses.  But  the  Quakers, 
serving  another  Master  than  that  to  which  a  commission 
would  have  looked  for  pay  and  praise,  were  well  pleased 
that,  as  the  reward  of  their  five  years'  services,  it  was 
permitted  to  them  to  lift  up  their  testimony  in  the 
British  Parliament  in  favour  of  a  more  humane  treatment 
of  prisoners.  Neither  John  Bright  nor  William  R 
Forster  was  then  in  the  House,  and  though  it  was  four 
years  since  Joseph  Pease,  upon  his  affirmation,  had  been 
admitted  a  member,  probably  he  was  the  only  Quaker, 
as  he  was  the  first,  who  had  a  seat  within  its  walls.  Did 
any  member,  except  Joseph  Pease,  remember,  on  read- 
ing the  report  in  which  the  testimony  of  the  Quakers 
was  quoted  in  favour  of  the  humane  treatment  of  con- 
victs at  the  Antipodes,  that  one  of  the  earliest  public 
appearances  of  the  Quaker  fraternity  was  when  they 
stated  in  Parliament,  in  1659,  that  two  thousand  of  their 
number   had   suffered    imprisonment   in   Newgate,  and 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  219 

when  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  Friends  in  good  health 
reported  themselves  by  name  to  the  Government  as 
desirous  of  being  imprisoned,  in  place  of  an  equal 
number  whose  term  of  confinement  illness  threatened 
to  cut  short?  If  the  report  of  1837  did  thus  carry  the 
mind  of  any  M.P.  back  to  1659,  he  must  have  reflected 
that  a  long  and  intimate  connection  had  existed  between 
Quakers  and  convicts,  to  the  advantage  of  the  one,  and 
not  to  the  discredit  of  the  other. 

"On  the  third  of  the  eleventh  month,"  1837,  six 
years  and  two  months  after  leaving  home,  Walker  and 
Backhouse  set  sail  from  Tasmania  for  Melbourne. 
From  this  point,  at  which  the  main  interest  of  their 
mission  no  longer  lies  among  convicts,  it  is  only  pos- 
sible to  mark  the  direction  which  they  took  in  their 
wanderings.  All  that  lends  to  Walker's  formal,  un- 
adorned record  of  their  travels  in  Australia,  Mauritius, 
and  Africa,  a  deeper  interest  than  belongs  to  all  but  a 
very  few  of  the  best  stories  ever  told  of  missionary  toil 
and  adventure  and  observation,  must  be  left  in  the 
bulky  biographical  sepulchre  to  which  the  memory  of  a 
good  man  has  been  consigned. 

Melbourne  was  found  by  the  Friends  to  consist  of 
about  one  hundred  weatherboard  huts,  helping  the 
eucalyptus  to  shade  ground  gently  sloping  to  the  Yarra 
Yarra.  Adelaide,  to  which  they  proceeded  from  Mel- 
bourne in  the  year  one  of  both  cities,  supplied  them 
rather   with   recollections   of    numerous   ill-conditioned 


223  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

natives  than  of  thriving  English  colonists,  such  as 
welcomed  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  in  1869.  Excessive 
heat,  mosquitoes,  sand-flies — "  bless  you,  a  heart-break- 
ing country  "  to  look  at — all  the  plagues  which  have 
made  Western  Australia  a  place  of  punishment  to 
British  soldiers  and  settlers  as  well  as  to  convicts,  did 
not  deter  the  Quakers  from  completing  the  round  of 
the  colonies  by  a  visit  to  Albany,  Perth,  and  Freemantle. 
Sand  and  blight  were  in  his  thoughts  as  Walker  made 
the  last  entries  in  his  journal  —  the  sand  which  was 
described  as  beautiful  grass  in  advertisements  relative  to 
Western  Australia ;  the  blight  which  had  been  found  to 
pervade  all  the  colonies  alike,  and  which  was  due,  not  to 
climate,  but  to  drink. 

Anxious  to  enter  upon  the  field  of  work  in  South 
Africa,  of  which  they  had  obtained  a  passing  glimpse  on 
touching  at  Cape  Town,  the  Quakers  spent  only  two 
months  and  a  half  in  Mauritius — too  short  a  period,  as 
they  felt,  for  making  satisfactory  acquaintance  with  the 
state  of  an  island  in  which  Quakers,  as  anti-slavery 
Christians,  had  much  to  observe.  After  seeing  a  good 
deal  of  a  strangely  mongrel  population,  and  making  the 
best  possible  use  of  their  slender  stock  of  French  in  the 
way  of  preaching  the  Gospel,  they  left  the  island,  enter- 
taining the  modest  hope  that,  "in  connection  with 
other  sources  of  evidence,"  the  knowledge  which  they 
had  obtained  might  be  made  to  subserve  the  general 
interests  of  humanity.     The  abolition  of  slavery  was  too 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  221 

recent  an  event,  the  prevalence  of  Parisian  morals,  not 
improved  by  exportation,  was  too  palpable  a  fact,  to 
admit  of  their  indulging  any  more  sanguine  expecta- 
tion. They  were  prevented  by  circumstances  which  they 
much  regretted  from  seeing  the  grave  of  "Paul  and 
Virginia ; "  but  had  they  accomplished  their  purpose  of 
visiting  the  spot,  the  web  of  reflection  which  would  have 
been  woven  under  their  broad  -  brims  would  certainly 
have  been  of  very  mixed  texture,  and  included  some- 
thing belonging  to  a  French  idyl,  much  appertaining  to 
a  Parisian  Sunday,  and  something  also  connected  with 
the  prospect  of  a  kingdom  of  God  eternal  upon  earth. 
Their  faith  in  this  kingdom,  apart  from  the  results  of 
their  individual  efforts  on  its  behalf,  and  apart  from  the 
existence  of  the  religious  body  to  which  they  belonged, 
was  characteristically  firm  ;  it  was  only  staggered  for  a 
moment,  not  shaken,  by  Macquarie  Harbour,  Norfolk 
Island,  the  Mauritius. 

Their  destination  on  leaving  Mauritius  was  South 
Africa,  where  they  spent  two  years  and  three  months, 
and  where  their  travels  extended  beyond  the  limits  of 
Cape  Colony,  to  within  a  few  days'  journey  of  Port 
Natal  in  the  east,  to  Motito  in  the  north,  and  across 
the  Orange  River  into  the  Great  Namaqualand  on  the 
west  Eighty  mission  stations  at  the  time  represented 
European  Christianity  in  its  beneficence  and  also  its 
numerous  divisions.  The  Friends  paid  a  visit  to  every 
one  of  the  eighty.     Every  town  and  village  within  the 


222  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

limits  of  the  colony  made  acquaintance  with  their  zeal 
for  the  promotion  of  temperance  and  righteousness 
and  peace.  In  the  course  of  their  wanderings  from 
south  to  north  and  from  ocean  to  ocean,  they  travelled 
six  thousand  miles  by  waggon  or  on  horseback.  Start- 
ing from  Cape  Town,  to  follow  the  line  of  the  East 
Coast,  and  afterwards  to  strike  across  country,  they  did 
not  behold  the  Atlantic  from  the  Great  Namaqualand 
without  having  toiled  and  suffered  in  the  service  of 
humanity,  under  an  African  sun,  as  other  missionaries 
in  the  same  regions  have  toiled  and  suffered.  Many  of 
the  best  books  of  travel  in  existence  relate  to  the  ground 
over  which  Walker  and  his  companion  travelled  on  their 
errand  of  peace.  Walker's  journal  will  bear  comparison 
with  the  best  of  them  in  point  of  interest  and  even 
entertainment.  It  is  amusing  as  well  as  instructive  to 
note  in  its  pages  the  effect  upon  familiar  African  scenes 
and  characters,  of  being  looked  at  from  under  a  broad 
brim  and  through  Quaker  spectacles,  and  of  being  set 
down,  as  much  without  exaggeration  as  without  malice — 
described  with  the  austere  simplicity  of  the  book  of 
Genesis,  yet  not  without  the  shrewdness  of  a  Newcastle 
"  canny  "  man.  A  special  interest  perhaps  attaches  for 
the  moment  to  many  passages  in  the  Quaker's  journal, 
referring  to  scenes  in  which  the  marks  of  the  Kaffir  War 
of  1836  were  still  fresh. 

Sneers  at  Christian  missions  in   Africa,  which  have 
been   elaborated   by  wits  at    home,    and   which   have 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER,  223 

received  countenance  from  too  credulous  missionaries 
and  too  censorious  travellers,  have  not  been  without 
effect  upon  the  hopes  of  the  Christian  world  in  regard 
to  the  annexation  of  the  countries  of  the  Kaffir  and  the 
Hottentot.  As  an  antidote  to  these  sneers,  nothing 
better  than  Walker's  journal  of  his  tour  of  inspection 
among  Christian  missions  was  ever  pubhshed.  The 
same  faith  in  God  as  good,  and  in  man  as  not  altogether 
bad,  which  our  Quaker  missionaries  found  to  be  the 
strength  of  their  hearts  and  the  force  of  their  sermons 
at  Macquarie  Harbour  and  Norfolk  Island,  enabled 
them  with  singular  success  to  overcome  the  world  where 
the  world  consisted  of  the  dominion  of  rival  Christian 
sects  often  at  war,  and  of  heathen  tribes  seldom  at 
peace.  They  had  to  record  at  the  end  of  their  travels 
in  Africa,  that  they  had  been  received  as  friends  and 
brothers,  not  only  by  persons  of  different  religious  per- 
suasion and  country,  but  of  different  colour  and  language. 
Quaker  Christianity,  consisting  only  of  a  very  little  of 
breadth  of  brim,  and  much  of  warmth  of  heart,  was  the 
best  passport  they  could  have  carried  with  them  on  their 
journey.  If  their  waggon,  as  it  creaked  upon  its  rude 
axle  and  jolted  over  stray  boulders,  in  the  Great 
Namaqualand,  could  have  been  pointed  to  as  that 
which  was  conveying  to  the  heathen  the  knowledge  of  a 
peculiar  use  of  the  personal  pronoun,  or  of  the  impor- 
tance of  correct  views  respecting  infant  baptism,  its 
approach  might  have  been  regarded  with  indifference,  or 


224  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER. 

have  called  forth  hostility  at  some  mission  stations 
and  at  various  native  kraals.  But  wherever  they  went  it 
was  understood  that  their  errand  was  peace  and  good- 
will, and  on  that  errand  they  were  everywhere  welcome. 

Moshesh,  the  famous  Bechuana  chieftain,  hearing 
what  was  done  in  the  name  of  Christ  in  the  territories  of 
some  of  his  neighbours,  once  set  out  from  his  kraal,  with 
a  thousand  head  of  cattle  driven  before  him,  intending 
to  buy  a  missionary.  He  would  have  been  fortunate  if 
chance  had  thrown  in  his  way  a  missionary  like  G.  W. 
Walker  or  James  Backhouse.  Wonderful  might  have 
been  the  results  if  Quaker  Christianity,  often  persecuted 
in  Europe,  had  been  for  once  established  by  law  in 
Africa.  Problems  of  deep  interest  in  Church  and  State, 
which  perplex  European  statesmen,  and  are  the  gage  of 
battle  between  European  sects,  might  have  been  shown 
by  the  Bechuanas  to  be  capable  of  solution.  It  is 
certain  that  if  G.  W.  Walker,  or  his  companion,  or  any 
missionary  of  the  same  spirit  as  theirs,  had  been 
intrusted  with  the  direction  of  religious  affairs  in  the 
dominions  of  Moshesh,  the  spectacle  would  have  been 
exhibited  there  which  has  been  rarely  seen  in  England 
and  in  Europe,  of  a  Christianity  not  too  good  for  the 
world — not  too  studious  of  perfection  in  regard  to  its 
dress  and  ornaments  to  attend  to  the  work  of  clothing 
the  naked,  and  casting  out  devils,  and  turning  spears 
into  ploughshares,  and  swords  into  pruning-hooks. 

On  quitting  Africa  the  Quaker  missionaries  parted, 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WALKER.  225 

after  nine  years  of  fellowship  \n  toil  and  in  the  peace 
of  God,  never  to  meet  again.  Backhouse  went  home 
to  York.  Walker  returned  to  Tasmania,  married,  and 
settled  in  that  colony.  In  Tasmania  he  commenced 
business  as  a  draper,  and  succeeded  well  enough  to 
satisfy  his  modest  ambition,  though  he  rather  restricted 
his  trade  by  refusing  to  sell  lace  and  other  vanities  for 
which  his  lady  customers  were  in  the  habit  of  making 
anxious  inquiries.  Then  he  was  appointed  to  a  post  in 
the  savings  bank,  and  in  the  occupancy  of  that  office 
he  died  at  a  comparatively  early  age.  It  may  well  be 
supposed  that  such  a  missionary  as  we  have  made 
acquaintance  with  in  him  was  not  idle  as  a  philan- 
thropist after  he  took  to  trade.  The  colony  owes 
Hawdon  Bragg's  apprentice  as  much  gratitude,  perhaps, 
as  is  due  from  it  to  any  man  that  ever  set  foot  upon  its 
shores.  Every  good  work  proposed  by  anybody  else 
was  heartily  seconded  by  him.  Many  a  good  work 
owed  its  commencement  and  its  success  to  his  almost 
unaided  labour.  His  advocacy  of  temperance  in  par- 
ticular, his  warfare  against  drunkenness,  was  crowned,  as 
it  deserved  to  be,  with  splendid  results.  When  he  died  it 
was  not  a  class,  or  a  sect,  or  a  city,  but  a  people,  a  colony 
of  a  hundred  thousand  English  men  and  women,  that 
lamented  the  loss  of  a  brave,  devoted,  noble  maa  The 
lesson  of  his  life  does  not  need  to  be  pointed  out  in  these 
pages.  It  is  that  a  good  life,  even  if  it  begin  in  a  draper's 
shop  and  end  at  a  clerk's  desk,  may  have  imperial  issues. 


(      226      ) 


ROBERT  MOFFAT  AND  SOUTH  AFRICA. 


LIKE  some  great  citadel,  the  interior  of  Central 
Africa  had  for  ages  defied  the  endeavours  of 
civilised  man  to  make  a  breach  and  enter  in.  It  was  an 
unknown  land, — some  thought  it  a  desert,  others  fancied 
it  was  a  fruitful  country.  The  Portuguese,  full  of  adven- 
ture, and  fired  by  the  love  of  gain,  had  managed  to 
find  points  of  settlement  on  the  outermost  borders,  both 
east  and  west,  and  as  the  outpost  of  an  army  will  some- 
times make  exchanges  of  handy  commodities  with  the 
enemy's  outpost,  they  had  contrived  to  enlist  the  tribes 
with  which  they  came  into  contact  in  the  most  nefarious 
traffic.  They  set  the  one  tribe  to  prey  upon  the  other 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  slaves.  At  other  points, 
here  and  there,  adventurous  merchants  had  advanced  so 
far  as  to  enable  them  to  barter  the  showy  productions  of 
European  industry,  for  the  ivory  and  the  skins  of  the 
interior.  But  the  great  heart  of  the  continent  was  still 
untrodden  of  the  white  man's  foot  :  and  it  was  reserved 
for  a  poor  Scotch  lad  who,  self-taught,  had  managed  to 


ROBERT  MOFFAT. 


Master  Missionaries. 


p.  226. 


ROBERT  MOFFA  T.  227 

scramble  forward  to  a  university,  and  to  study  medicine 
and  theology  whilst  he  lived  almost  on  beggars'  fare,  to 
penetrate  far  into  the  interior  and  open  up  to  the 
civilised  world  a  new  and  most  extraordinary  region, 
likely  at  no  very  distant  time  to  be  the  centre  of  a 
mighty  commerce.  Dr.  Livingstone  is  the  great  ex- 
plorer of  Central  Africa;  but  his  way  was,  in  a  sense,  * 
prepared  for  him.  The  names  of  Moffat  and  Livingstone 
must  hereafter  be  linked  together  in  all  future  histories 
of  missionary  enterprise  and  exploration.  Moffat  was 
the  first  to  put  a  foot  forward,  and  the  romance  of 
Central  African  discovery  may  be  said  to  begin  with  him. 
Before  his  settlement  at  Kuruman,  the  Dutch  missions 
in  Africa  had  been  mere  preparations.  He  connects  the 
first  great  missionary  enterprise  in  that  region  with  the 
last  one ;  and  his  recent  home-coming  makes  a  sketch 
of  his  work  not  unfitting  at  the  present  moment. 

When  Robert  Moffat,  with  the  consent  of  his  pious 
Scotch  parents,  left  his  gardening  and  set  sail  for  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  on  the  last  day  of  October  18 16, 
he  was  only  twenty  years  of  age — a  mere  stripling.  But 
he  was  a  mature  man  in  self-possession  and  in  Christian 
faith ;  and  these  are  the  main  qualities  required  in 
missionary  enterprise.  He  had  devoted  himself  to  the 
cause  without  wavering,  and  he  entered  on  his  arduous 
work  with  self-reliant  hope.  His  first  battle  was  not 
with  the  heathen,  however,  but  with  the  British  Governor, 
who   was   loath    to   give   his   sanction   to   missionaries 


228  R  OBER  T  MOFFA  T. 

proceeding  outside  the  Cape  Colony,  as  it  was  feared 
that,  through  want  of  discretion,  they  would  get  the 
tribes  of  the  interior  into  broils  and  misunderstandings. 
He  was  as  firm  in  his  representations  and  applications 
as  the  Governor  was  in  his  refusals;  and,  during  the 
delay,  he  made  good  use  of  his  time  in  getting  instruc- 
tion in  Dutch  from  a  pious  Hollander  with  whom  he 
had  taken  up  his  abode,  so  that  he  might  be  able  to 
preach  to  the  Boers  and  their  servants.  As  a  means  of 
meeting  his  demands  half-way,  he  was  offered  the  post  of 
Resident  with  one  of  the  Kaffir  chiefs ;  but  he  declined 
to  mix  up  political  duties  with  his  preaching  of  the  Gospel, 
and  would  either  go  untrammelled  or  not  at  all. 

Permission  at  length  was  granted  him,  and  he  at  once 
set  out  for  the  Orange  River,  to  try  to  convert  the  noto- 
rious Africaner,  who  had  made  his  name  a  terror  by  his 
maraudings  and  murders.  On  the  way,  Moffat  preached 
to  the  Hottentots,  wherever  he  could  get  opportunity.  On 
all  hands  he  was  warned  against  approaching  Africaner. 
One  old  motherly  lady,  wiping  the  tear '  from  her  eye, 
bade  him  farewell,  saying,  "  Had  you  been  an  old  man, 
it  would  have  been  nothing,  for  you  would  soon  have, 
died,  whether  or  no ;  but  you  are  young,  and  going  to  be 
eaten  up  by  that  monster  ! " 

That  Moffat  was  accompanied  by  the  missionary 
Ebner,  who  had  some  time  before  been  a  resident  at 
Africaner's  kraal,  was  not  much  in  his  favour ;  for  Ebner 
apparently   had    left    on    bad   terms   with   the   chiefs 


ROBER T  MOFFA  T.  229 

brother.  But  the  party  went  on — over  desert  plains,  where 
sometimes  the  oxen  would  sink  down  in  the  sand  from 
sheer  fatigue,  and  where  the  want  of  water  was  a  terrible 
infliction ;  and  over  rocky  mountains,  where  the  exposure 
to  the  scorching  heat  of  the  hot  season  was  like  to  induce 
fever  every  moment. 

Africaner's  welcome  was  not  warm  ;  and  the  old  mis- 
understanding between  Ebner  and  the  chiefs  brother 
soon  issued  in  a  quarrel.  On  this  Ebner  had  to  flee, 
and  Mofiat  was  left  alone  to  deal  with  the  remorseless 
chief  and  his  bloodthirsty  people  as  best  he  might.  He 
dealt  with  them  wisely,  and  won  a  victory  which  is 
memorable.  If  you  look  at  Robert  Moffat's  portrait,  what 
will  most  probably  strike  you  at  the  first  is  the  mixture 
of  firmness,  shrewdness,  and  tact  that  predominates  in  it. 
He  was  a  born  manager  of  men.  You  can  see  that  in 
his  eye.  If  it  had  not  been  that  the  grace  of  God  soon 
took  possession  of  his  heart,  he  would  no  doubt  have 
been  a  most  successful  man  of  business.  But  the  grace 
of  God  does  not  kill  man's  natural  faculties ;  it  only  con- 
secrates them.  Moffat  7vas  a  successful  man  :  he  proved 
himself  a  wise  master-gardener  for  God ;  he  was  prudent 
for  the  souls  of  men,  as  plants  of  rarest  beauty  and  of 
untold  value.  So,  in  spite  of  the  barrenness  of  the 
country,  the  want  of  water,  and  the  thinness  of  the 
population,  he  began  his  work.  "  He  commenced 
stated  services,  opened  a  school,  and  itinerated  amongst 
the   neighbouring    *  werfs '   or   villages.     His  food   was 


230  ROBEK T  MOFFA  T. 

milk  and  meat.  He  would  live  for  weeks  together  on 
one,  and  then,  for  a  while,  on  both ;  but  frequently 
he  had  recourse  to  the  '  fasting  girdle.'  After  a  day's 
occupation,  he  would  often,  in  the  stillness  of  the 
evening,  silently  retire  to  the  rocky  boulders  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  station,  to  commune  in  sorrow 
and  joy  with  Him  in  whose  service  he  had  embarked ; 
sometimes,  too,  to  think  over  the  past,  and  of  the  home 
and  friends  he  had  left  behind,  perhaps  for  ever;  and 
occasionally  to  draw  from  his  violin  some  favourite 
sacred  melody,  or  the  loved  airs  of  his  native  country."* 

So  Moffat  laboured  for  years.  Often  it  seemed  to 
him  as  though  he  was  "  beating  the  air ; "  and  his  heart 
sank.  It  was  lucky  for  him  that  he  had  outward  as  well 
as  inward  resources.  He  could  put  his  hand  to  any- 
thing ;  and  that  gained  him  respect  from  the  Namaqua- 
men  more  than  his  learning.  "  My  dear  old  mother," 
he  tells  us  himself,  "  to  keep  me  out  of  mischief  in  the 
long  winter  evenings,  taught  me  to  knit  and  to  sew. 
When  I  would  tell  her  I  meant  to  be  a  man,  she  would 
say,  *  Lad,  ye  dinna  ken  whaur  your  lot  may  be  cast.' 
She  was  right ;  for  I  have  often  had  occasion  to  use  the 
needle  since." 

He  was  not  unfrequently  in  sore  straits  for  his  daily 
food ;  but  he  only  found  himself  the  more  disposed  for 

*  "  A  Life's  Labours  in  Soutli  Africa  ;  being  the  Story  of  the 
Life-work  of  Robert  Moffat,  Apostle  to  the  Bechuana  Tribes." 
Published  by  John  Snow  &  Company.  A  most  interesting  little 
work. 


ROBER  T  MOFFA  T.  23 1 

meditation.     He  wandered,  and  taught,  and   preached 

without   faltering ;    and   at   length   the   blessing   came. 

Africaner   himself  was  the  first  convert.     The   change 

that   came  over  the  chief  was  marvellous.     The  wild 

Namaqua  warrior  was  gentle  as  a  child.     And  he  was 

very  solicitous  for  the  temporal  welfare  of  his  friend — 

intently  watchful  that  the   missionary  should   want  for 

nothing  that  he  or  his  people  could  give  him.     The  man 

who  hitherto  had  only  had  one  ambition — to  lead  his 

people  to  war  and  plunder — now  directed  them  to  build 

a  house  for  the  missionary,  made  him  a  present  of  cows, 

regularly  attended  the  services,   was   assiduous  in   the 

study  of  the  Scriptures,  and  sincerely  mourned  over  his 

past  Ufe.     His  love  for  Moffat  was  deep  and  abiding. 

He  nursed  the  missionary  through  the  deUrium  of  a 

bilious  fever;  and   when   his    friend   and    teacher  was 

compelled  by  circumstances  to  visit  Cape  Town,  nothing 

would  content  Africaner  but  to  be  allowed  to  accompany 

him  thither,  even  at  great  risk,  for   a  price  had  years 

before  been  set  upon  his  head.     His  appearance  with 

Moffat  in  Cape  Colony  produced  a  very  deep  impression, 

as  may  be  conceived.     Whilst  there  it  was  proposed 

that  Moffat  should  not   return    to   Namaqualand ;  but 

should  proceed  to  the  Bechuana  country,  which  lies  to 

the  north-east  of  Namaqualand,  and  found  a  mission 

there.     To  this  Africaner  consented,  as  he  had  some 

hopes  of  removing,  with  his  people,  to  a  district  not  far 

distant  from  where  Moffat  now  proposed  to  settle.     So 


232  ROBERT  MOFFAT. 

the  missiohary,  with  his  newly-married  wife,  set  forth  for 
the  new  country,  much  strengthened  by  his  success 
with  Africaner  and  his  people ;  and  encouraged  by  the 
thought  that  the  "  station  he  was  to  occupy  was  one  of 
the  foremost  posts  in  heathen  soil,  and  that  beyond  it 
there  were  regions  thickly  populated  by  races  who  had 
never  seen  the  face  of  a  white  man,  and  to  whom 
Christianity  and  its  attendant  blessings  were  as  yet 
unknown." 

This  is  very  characteristic  of  Moffat.  He  had  in  him 
not  a  little  of  the  explorer.  But  he  found  it  very  back- 
ward work  with  Mothibi's  Bechuanas.  That  chief  had 
actually  desired  that  a  missionary  should  be  sent  among 
his  people.  But  it  soon  became  clear  that  the  people 
had  more  notion  of  trading  and  bartering  than  of  hear- 
ing about  the  Gospel  When  they  found  that  Moffat 
had  no  goods,  they  were  disposed  to  yoke  the  oxen  to 
his  waggons  and  send  him  back  again.  Moffat  was 
often  in  great  trouble.  He  did  not  know  the  language, 
and  had  to  speak  to  the  people  through  interpreters ; 
and  he  soon  began  to  despair  of  making  any  impression 
by  this  means.  The  one  way  was  to  master  the  lan- 
guage, and  this  was  a  very  slow  and  difficult  process. 
Besides,  the  missionaries  had  to  build  dwellings  for 
themselves,  to  enclose  gardens,  and  make  furrows  to 
irrigate  the  soil,  so  that  some  grain  might  be  reared  for 
food.  "  Standing  at  the  saw-pit,  labouring  at  the  anvil, 
treading  clay  for  making  bricks,  preaching  to  the  motley 


ROBER T  MOFFA  T.  233 

few  who  would  attend  their  temporary  place  of  worship 
— such  were  the  duties  of  each  recurring  day."  The 
natives  shamelessly  stole  from  them,  not  only  tools,  but 
food  and  grain  also.  And  when  a  great  drought  came, 
and  the  rain-makers  failed  to  bring  rain,  the  missionaries 
were  assailed  as  the  cause  of  the  drought,  and  were  told 
to  leave  the  country.  Moffat  at  once  faced  the  chief 
and  his  attendants,  said  they  might  do  with  him  as  they 
would,  but  he  would  not  leave  their  country.  "Our 
hearts  are  with  you,"  he  said;  "you  may  shed  my  blood, 
or  you  may  burn  our  dwelling,  but  I  know  that  you  will 
not  touch  my  wife  and  children;  and  you  will  surely 
reverence  the  grey  hairs  of  my  venerable  friend  "  (point- 
ing to  Mr.  Hamilton).  "As  for  me,  my  decision  is 
made;  I  do  not  leave  your  country."  Then,  throwing 
open  his  waistcoat,  he  stood  erect  and  fearless.  "  Now, 
then,"  he  proceeded,  "  if  you  will,  drive  your  spears  to 
my  heart,  and  when  you  have  slain  me,  my  companions 
will  know  that  it  is  time  for  them  to  depart."  "  These 
men,"  said  the  chief,  turning  to  the  attendants,  "  must 
have  ten  lives.  When  they  are  so  fearless  of  death, 
there  must  be  something  in  immortality." 

From  this  time  the  hearts  of  the  people  began  to 
turn  to  the  truth.  MoiTat  showed  them  that  he  had 
no  interests  apart  from  theirs.  When  they  were  threat- 
ened by  another  warlike  tribe,  he  went  out  at  great 
risk  to  try  and  make  peace,  and  brought  back  such 
news  as  enabled  them  to  escape  injury  ;  for  he  himself 


234  ROBER  T  MOFFA  T. 

went  to  Griqua-town  for  assistance  against  the  common 
enemy.  The  Mantatees  were  now  mercilessly  slaugh- 
tered by  the  Bechuanas  ;  so  that  Moffat  had  to  ride  into 
the  field  and  intercede  for  the  women ;  who,  seeing 
mercy  was  shown  them,  would  bare  their  bosoms,  ex- 
claiming, "  I  am  a  woman !  I  am  a  woman  I "  The 
self-sacrificing  conduct  of  the  missionaries  so  moved  the 
chief,  that  he  aided  them  in  the  laying  out  of  the  new 
station  at  Kurumah,  which  was  for  so  long  Mr.  Moffat's 
head- quarters. 

From  Kuruman  Moffat  made  many  journeys.  He 
visited  Makaba,  king  of  the  Bauangketsi,  some  two 
hundred  miles  further  north,  and  was  received  with 
favour,  though  at  first  the  king  was  not  disposed  to 
converse  on  religious  matters.  But  a  favourable  im- 
pression was  then  made  on  some  of  the  courtiers. 
On  returning  from  this  visit  to  Makaba,  he  nearly- 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Mantatees,  who  had  surged 
onward  in  their  devastating  course  into  the  interior. 
Vague  reports  of  danger  reached  Mrs.  Moffat,  who 
remained  in  a  fever  of  suspense  with  her  two  children. 
Moffat,  however,  reached  home  safely,  though  he  had 
been  much  delayed  and  in  great  danger. 

It  was  not  till  the  year  1828 — seven  years  after  their 
arrival — that  the  Moffats  began  to  see  some  signs  of  the 
fruit  of  their  labours.  A  church  and  schoolhouse  were 
erected ;  the  morals  of  the  people  rapidly  improved ; 
for  the  greasy  skins,  decent  raiment  was  now  substituted. 


ROBERT  MOFFA T.  233 

Some  knowledge  of  the  arts  of  civilised  life  took  the 
place  of  savage  ignorance.  Moffat  was  able  now  to 
pursue  his  work  of  translating  the  Scriptures  into  the 
Sechuana  tongue  ;  and  he  was  day  by  day  busy  at  the 
printing-press.  The  natives  would  watch  the  sheets 
go  into  the  press  white,  and  come  out  a  moment 
after  covered  with  black  characters,  to  their  unspeak- 
able wonder. 

News  of  the  great  work  of  the  missionaries  at  Kuru- 
man  was  soon  carried  far  into  the  interior.  A  very 
notable  event  was  the  appearance  of  two  messengers 
from  the  Matabele  king,  Moselekatze,  who  wished  to 
know  more  of  the  work  of  the  white  men.  This 
potentate  ruled  a  large  portion  of  the  territory  now 
known  as  the  Transvaal  Republic,  was  a  great  warrior, 
and  a  terror  to  all  the  surrounding  tribes.  Moffat 
received  these  ambassadors  with  great  kindness,  and 
showed  them  as  much  of  civilised  appliances  as  he 
could.  Owing  to  some  risk  they  ran  from  the  tribe 
through  whose  territory  they  must  pass  on  their  return 
home,  he  himself  accompanied  them  on  their  way. 
Having  gone  so  far  with  them,  they  urged  that  he 
should  go  on  and  see  the  king.  And  so,  at  last,  he 
agreed  to  do.  Moselekatze  took  kindly  to  the  missionary, 
and  showed  himself  capable  of  gratitude.  Placing  his 
hand  on  the  missionary's  shoulder  one  day,  he  addressed 
him  by  the  title  of  **  Father,"  saying  :  "  You  have  made 
my  heart  as  white  as  milk.     I  cease  not  to  wonder  at 


236  KOBER  T  MOFFA  T. 

the  love  of  a  stranger.  You  never  saw  me  before, 
but  you  love  me  more  than  my  own  people."  Moffat 
did  not  leave  until  he  had  got  the  king's  consent 
that  a  mission  should  be  established  there,  A  party 
from  the  American  Missionary  Society  were  sent.  But 
the  missionaries  were  very  unfortunate.  They  were 
much  tried  with  fever,  and  one  of  their  wives  died 
soon  after  reaching  the  station.  And  then  the 
Matabele  were  set  upon  by  another  tribe  and  had 
to  flee,  and  all  that  the  missionaries  could  do  was 
to  throw  themselves  on  the  mercy  of  the  victors. 

In  I  S3  2  Moffat  had  completed  his  translation  into 
Sechuana  of  the  Gospel  of  Luke.  He  went  to  the 
Cape,  and  got  liberty  to  use  the  official  press;  but 
who  was  to  supply  him  with  compositors?  He  had 
simply  to  set  to  work  himself,  under  the  direction 
of  the  official  printer.  He  "  set  up "  the  matter  with 
his  own  hands,  and  was  soon  able  to  return  in  triumph 
to  the  station  with  copies  of  Luke's  Gospel  and  his 
own  hymns,  together  with  the  press,  which  Dr.  Philip 
had  presented  to  him,  and  some  other  gifts.  By  1840 
the  translation  of  the  New  Testament  was  completed, 
and  before  1S43  thousands  of  copies  had  been  dis- 
tributed, Moffat  having  superintended  the  printing  in 
London  during  a  short  visit  home. 

And  at  this  point  Moffat's  story  gets  interlaced  with 
that  of  Livingstone,  who  went  out  with  him  at  this 
time,   together  with   some   other   missionaries.      While 


ROBERT  MOFFA  T.  237 

Livingstone  was  wandering  among  the  Bakwains,  in 
retirement  at  Lepeloli,  or  labouring  at  Kolobeng, 
Moffat  was  pushing  on  with  his  translation  of  the 
Old  Testament,  amid  ill-health  and  much  loss  of 
power.  He  worked  without  pause ;  for  the  cause 
of  the  Gospel  was  prospering,  and  each  fresh  proof 
of  its  power  was  with  him  only  a  new  incentive  to 
effort. 

The  attacks  of  the  Transvaal  farmers  on  Livingstone's 
station  at  Kolobeng  forced  him  to  think  of  setting  out 
to  try  and  find  a  new  field  for  his  people  further  to 
the  north.  In  God's  good  providence  this  was  the 
beginning  of  Livingstone's  missionary  explorations.  He 
saw  so  much,  and  was  tempted  further  and  further  on 
until,  as  the  result,  the  famous  journey  across  the 
continent  of  Africa  was  undertaken.  And  that  the 
reports  of  Moffat's  good  work  had  already  travelled 
far  into  the  unknown  countries,  was  proved  by  the 
fact  that,  while  Livingstone  was  on  the  Zambesi,  he 
learned  from  the  natives  there  that  the  English  had 
come  to  Moselekatze  and  told  him  that  it  was  wrong 
to  fight  and  kill  ;  and  that  since  the  English  had  come 
he  had  sent  out  his  men  not  to  kill  and  plunder,  but 
to  collect  tribute  of  cloth  and  money.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  this  rumour,  spreading  further  and  further 
inland,  prepared  the  way  for  Livingstone's  extraordinary 
journeys. 

And   whilst    Livingstone  was   thus   engaged,    Moffat 


238  R  OBER  T  MOFFA  T. 

was  planning  how  to  help  him.  His  health  had 
suffered  from  the  close  application,  continued  now 
through  years,  to  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures. 
'He  was  urged  to  go  home  for  a  time.  Instead,  he 
resolved  to  recruit  himself  by  a  trip  to  the  Limpopo 
district,  several  days'  journey  to  the  north  of  Kolobeng, 
where  Moselekatze  and  his  people  had  settled  when 
they  were  driven  from  their  old  quarters.  Moffat's 
visit  was  of  singular  interest.  He  was  kindly  received 
by  the  king,  now  grievously  ill  of  dropsy,  and,  after 
some  time,  obtained  permission  to  preach  to  the  people. 
He  also  prescribed  for  the  king's  ailment,  and  secured 
his  interest  in  Livingstone's  travels,  getting  him  to 
forward  men  with  letters  and  supplies  to  Linyanti, 
on  the  Chobe  river,  two  or  three  hundred  miles  further 
to  the  north,  which  letters  and  supplies,  as  we  know, 
were  received  by  Livingstone  from  the  Makololo  people, 
who  had  taken  them  in  charge,  nearly  a  year  afterwards. 
As  for  Moselekatze,  he  was  loath  to  let  Moffat  leave 
him,  pleading  that  he  had  not  yet  shown  him  sufficient 
kindness.  And  as  for  Moffat,  he  returned  greatly 
restored  in  health,  and  full  of  hope  that  very  soon 
Christianity  would  be  regularly  introduced  among  these 
people. 

Livingstone's  visit  to  England  in  1856  had  the  effect 
of  wondrously  reviving  the  interest  in  African  missions, 
the  London  Society  resolving  to  establish  missions 
among  the  Matabcle  and  Makololo.     Naturally  Moffat 


ROBER T  MOFFA  T.  239 

v^as  overjoyed  at  receiving  this  news.  It  was  what  he 
had  for  forty  years  been  working  for.  His  translation 
of  the  Scriptures  into  the  Sechuana  tongue — dialects 
of  which,  not  varying  much  from  each  other,  are 
spoken  over  almost  the  whole  of  South  Africa  as  far 
as  the  equator — could  now  be  cast  abroad  to  do  its 
work.  The  undertaking  had  been  a  very  trying  one 
in  the  circumstances,  and  Moffat's  health  had  suffered 
from  the  close  application  which  for  many  years  had 
been  required  from  him.  But  now  the  task  was  finished 
— a  task  which  of  itself  would  have  been  enough  to 
give  Moffat  a  place  among  the  greatest  of  human 
benefactors,  even  had  he  not  been  the  adventurous 
missionary  he  was.  "  No  evidence,"  writes  the  learned 
Seiler,  "can  be  produced  that  the  whole  of  the  Scrip- 
tures was,  by  any  one  person,  rendered  into  Saxon. 
Even  Wickliffe  had  the  help  of  many  persons ;  much 
more  Coverdale.  Bede  was  translating  the  Gospel  of 
John  at  the  time  of  his  decease.  But  Robert  Moffat, 
who  began  with  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  has  lived  to 
translate  the  whole  Bible  into  the  barbarous  dialect  of 
South  Africa,  and  will,  we  trust,  live  to  see  it  circulating 
among  the  natives,  who  both  speak  and  in  many  instances 
can  read  it." 

Moifat  himself  has  given  a  very  remarkable  instance 
of  the  power  of  the  Scriptures  over  the  heathen  mind — 
an  instance  which  forms  quite  a  romantic  episode.  "  In 
one  of  my  early  journeys  with  some  of  my  companions, 


240  ROBER T  MOFFA  T. 

we  came  to  a  heathen  village  on  the  banks  of  the  Orange 
River,  between  Namaqualand  and  the  Griqua  country. 
We  had  travelled   far,  and  were   hungry,   thirsty,   and 
fatigued.     From  the  fear  of  being  exposed  to  lions,  we 
preferred  remaining  at  the  village  to  proceeding  during 
the  night.     The  people  at  the  village  rather  roughly 
directed  us  to  halt  at  a  distance.     We  asked  water,  but 
they  would  not  supply  it.     I  offered  the  three  or  four 
buttons  which  still  remained  on  my  jacket  for  a  little 
milk;  this  also  was  refused.     We  had  the  prospect  of 
another  hungry  night  at  a  distance  from  water,  though 
within  sight  of  a  river.     We  found  it  difficult  to  reconcile 
ourselves  to  our  lot ;  for,  in  addition  to  repeated  rebuffs, 
the  manner  of  the  villagers  excited  suspicion.     When 
twilight  drew  on,  a  woman  approached  from  the  height 
beyond  which  the  village  lay.     She  bore  on  her  head  a 
bundle  of  wood,  and  had  a  vessel  of  milk  in  her  hand. 
The  latter,  without  opening  her  lips,  she  handed  to  us, 
laid  down  the  wood,  and  returned  to  the  village.      A 
second  time  she  approached,  with  a  cooking  vessel  on 
her  head,  and  a  leg  of  mutton  in  one  hand,  and  water 
in  the  other.     She  sat  down  without  saying  a  word, 
prepared  the  fire,  and  put  on  the  meat.     We  asked  her 
again  and  again  who  she  was.     She  remained  silent  till 
affectionately  entreated  to  give  us  a  reason  for   such 
unlooked-for  kindness  to   strangers.     The  sohtary  tear 
stole  down  her  sable  cheek  when  she  replied,  'I  love 
Him  whose  servants  ye  are ;  and  surely  it  is  my  duty  to 


ROBER  T  MOFFA  T.  2^t 

give  you  a  cup  of  cold  water  in  His  name.  My  heart 
is  full ;  therefore  I  cannot  speak  the  joy  I  feel  to  see 
you  in  this  out-of-the-way  place.'"  She  was  a  lonely 
disciple  indeed,  and  her  only  means  of  keeping  the 
spiritual  life  awake  within  her  was  a  copy  of  the  Dutch 
New  Testament  which  she  had  got  from  Mr.  Helm  when 
in  his  school  years  before,  previous  to  removing  with  her 
relatives  far  up-country. 

And  so,  realising  the  great  opportunity  that  was  now 
given  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  and  to 
distribute  the  Word  of  God,  in  the  interior,  Moffat 
declined  to  seek  the  rest  he  so  much  needed  in  retire- 
ment, or  in  a  trip  to  England,  as  he  had  been  recom- 
mended to  do.  In  spite  of  the  risks  of  African  travel 
and  his  advanced  years,  he  resolved  to  visit  his  old  friend 
Moselekatze  again,  in  order  to  further  the  proposed 
settlement  of  missionaries.  When  there  on  a  former 
occasion,  Moffat  had  set  forth  to  the  king  the  simple 
principles  of  Gospel  truth,  and  urged  upon  him  to  receive 
Christian  teachers.  But  the  king  would  not  hear  of  any 
"teachers"  coming  unless  Moffat  would  come  with 
them.  Moffat  was  this  time  received  with  great  enthu- 
siasm both  by  king  and  people ;  they  had  been  longing 
for  another  visit  from  him.  The  king  was  willing  to 
receive  the  teachers,  if  Moffat  would  only  stay  with 
them.  "  You  must  come  too,"  the  king  urged.  "  How 
shall  I  get  on  with  people  I  don't  know,  if  you  are  not 
with  me  ?  "     But  after  awhile  he  said  enthusiastically, 


242  ROBERT  MOFFA T. 

"  By  all  means  bring  teachers.  You  are  wise ;  you  are 
able  to  judge  what  is  good  for  me  and  my  people  better 
than  I  do.  The  land  is  yours;  you  must  do  for  it  what 
you  think  is  good."  And  so  the  king  agreed  to  give 
the  missionaries  a  spot  of  ground  on  which  to  settle, 
Moffat  having  made  him  understand  clearly  that  they 
were  not  to  trade,  nor  to  look  to  him  for  their  food,  as 
they  would  themselves  dig,  and  plant,  and  sow,  and 
purchase  whatever  they  required.  Moffat,  however, 
urged  on  the  king  to  do  all  that  he  could  to  open  up  a 
trade  with  the  tribes  on  the  Zambesi. 

It  was  during  this  visit  that  Moffat's  influence  wifh 
Moselekatze  was  so  clearly  shown  by  his  obtaining  the 
release  of  Macheng,  the  son  of  the  late  king  of  the  Ba- 
mangwatos.  Macheng's  father  had  been  killed  in  an 
engagement,  and  the  child  had  been  taken  prisoner 
some  time  afterwards,  when  he  was  under  the  care  of  a 
Bechuana  chief,  Sechele.  He  had  been  so  kept  for 
several  years.  Moffat  accompanied  him  to  his  own 
country.  There  were  great  rejoicings  over  the  deliver- 
ance of  the  young  chief.  "  Is  it  not  through  the  love 
of  God  that  Macheng  is  among  us  to-day  ?  "  said  Sechele. 
"A  stranger,  one  of  a  nation — who  of  you  knows  its 
distance  from  us  ? — he  makes  himself  one  of  us,  enters 
the  lion's  abode,  and  brings  out  to  us  our  own  blood." 
One  of  the  Matabele,  who  had  accompanied  Moffat  and 
Macheng,  now  assured  the  assembled  multitude  that 
Moselekatze  desired  nothing  but  to  Hve  in  amity  with 


^  OBER  T  MOFFA  T.  241 

them.  Sechele  and  his  people  were  overjoyed  to  hear 
such  words  from  the  representative  of  a  tribe  which, 
though  distant  from  them,  had  been  till  now  a  terror  to 
them  both  by  night  and  by  day. 

Moffat  now  proceeded  to  Cape  Town  to  meet  Living- 
stone, who  was  on  his  way  to  the  Zambesi  They  had 
not  seen  each  other  for  six  years.  The  joy  of  the  meet- 
ing may  be  imagined.  There  would  be  much  to  speak 
of  and  discuss.  But  Livingstone's  halt  was  short.  He 
proceeded  on  his  great  expedition ;  and  in  a  few  months 
more  Moffat  was  once  again  at  Cape  Town,  welcoming 
the  new  missionaries,  among  whom  was  his  own  son, 
John  Moffat.  At  Kuruman  they  divided  into  two  bands. 
One  party  went  under  charge  of  Mr.  Helmore,  who  had 
been  for  many  years  stationed  at  Likatlong,  northwards 
to  the  land  of  Makololo ;  the  other  went  forward,  in  the 
care  of  Mr.  Moffat,  to  Moselekatze's  country.  Here 
they  were  not  only  received  kindly,  but  met  with  a  sort 
of  triumphal  reception.  An  epidemic  had  broken  out 
among  the  missionaries'  oxen.  Moffat  advised  the  king 
respecting  it,  but  he  was  willing  to  run  the  risk.  The 
missionary,  however,  had  more  consideration  for  the 
vast  herds  of  the  Matabele,  and  still  hung  back.  The 
king,  therefore,  sent  word  to  return  the  oxen,  and  men 
were  despatched  to  drag  the  waggons  to  their  destina- 
lion,  which  in  spite  of  many  obstacles  was  accomplished. 
Thus  auspiciously  the  missionaries  reached  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Matabele. 


244  ROBER T  MOFFA  T. 

This  mission  has  been  very  successful.  Moselekatze 
died  some  years  after  the  settlement ;  but  his  successor, 
Lobengole,  was  as  favourably  disposed  towards  the  mis- 
sionaries as  he  was.  The  Makololo  mission,  however, 
did  not  fare  so  well.  A  series  of  misfortunes  awaited  it, 
whose  story  has  been  told  very  graphically,  though  with 
full  details,  by  the  Rev.  John  Mackenzie  in  his  volume, 
"Ten  Years  North  of  the  Orange  River."  We  must 
turn  to  him  and  his  companions  for  a  little  space. 

It  had  been  one  of  the  inducements  to  the  establish- 
ment of  these  missions  that  the  chief  of  the  Makololo 
had  agreed  with  Dr.  Livingstone  to  shift  from  the  swamps 
of  Linyanti  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Zambesi,  on  mis- 
sionaries being  settled  amongst  them ;  whilst,  at  the 
same  time,  it  was  believed  that  Mr.  Moffat's  influence 
with  Moselekatze  was  so  strong  as  to  be  trusted  to  induce 
him  to  desist  from  any  kind  of  armed  inter/erence  with 
the  Makololo.  The  missionaries,  Mr.  Helmore,  Mr. 
Price,  and  Mr.  Mackenzie,  of  course,  anticipated  diffi- 
culty in  the  accomplishment  of  the  plan  (for  the  removal 
of  a  tribe  is  a  hard  matter,  even  though  the  chief  has 
promised),  just  as  they  looked  forward  to  many  sufferings 
in  their  journey ;  and,  indeed,  it  is  doubtful  whether  they 
would  have  been  brave  enough  to  have  set  out  at  all, 
had  it  not  been  that  Dr.  Livingstone  had  promised  to 
meet  them  at  Linyanti,  and  to  make  them  known  to  the 
people. 

The  journey  proved  trying  beyond  all  their  expecta- 


ROBERT  MOFFAT.  245 

tions.  They  had  due  share  of  disappointments  and 
hindrances  between  Cape  Town  and  Kuruman ;  but  the 
last  stage  was  little  short  of  being  only  a  succession  of 
misfortunes.  Owing  to  sickness,  it  was  found  necessary 
that  IMr.  Helmore  and  Mr.  Price  should  at  once  go 
forward,  in  case  they  should  miss  Dr.  Livingstone  at 
Linyanti,  and  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  should  follow  them 
in  a  few  months.  Durings  these  months  at  Kuruman, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  Sechuana, 
and  by  mixing  as  much  as  possible  with  the  people,  was 
soon  able  to  preach  in  their  language.  His  spare  time 
■  was  given  to  the  study  of  medicine.  In  May  i860,  he 
started  in  the  wake  of  Messrs.  Helmore  and  Price,  with 
supplies  which  a  native  had  failed  to  take  on,  as  he  had 
agreed  to  do.  When  they  had  gone  forward  through 
the  desert,  so  as  to  get  news  of  Mr.  Helmore's  party, 
they  found  that  they  had  suffered  much  from  want  of 
water  in  passing  through  it.  Mrs.  Helmore  wrote: 
"  I  felt  anxious  at  the  thought  of  spending  another  day 
like  the  past ;  and  was  looking  out  in  distress,  when  I 
saw  in  the  bright  moonlight  a  figure  at  a  distance  coming 
along  the  road.  At  first  I  could  not  make  it  out,  it 
looked  so  tall ;  but  on  coming  nearer,  who  should  it 
prove  to  be  but  my  servant  girl  Kionecoe,  eighteen  years 
of  age,  carrying  on  her  head  an  immense  calabash  of 
water.  On  hearing  of  our  distress  she  volunteered  to 
aid  us.  She  had  walked  four  hours.  Another  servant 
had  set  out  with  her  ;  but  as  he  had  driven  the  sheep 


246  ROBER  T  MOFFA  T. 

the  day  before  a  great  distance,  without  either  food  or 
water,  he  became  so  exhausted  that  he  lay  down  under 
a  bush  to  rest,  and  on  the  girl  came,  in  the  dead  of 
night,  in  a  strange  country  infested  with  lions,  bearing 
her  precious  burden.  Oh,  how  grateful  I  felt  to  her ! 
Surely  woman  is  the  same  all  the  world  over  !  She  had 
only  lived  with  me  since  June,  was  but  an  indifferent 
servant,  and  had  never  shown  any  particular  attachment 
to  the  children ;  but  this  kind  act  revealed  her  heart, 
and  seemed  to  draw  us  more  closely  together,  for  her 
conduct  since  has  been  excellent.  I  made  a  bed  for 
her  beside  me  in  the  fore  part  of  the  waggon,  the 
children  having  slaked  their  thirst  in  the  deliciously  cool 
water.  We  all  slept  till  six  o'clock.  I  made  coffee,  and 
offered  some  to  Kionecoe  and  her  companion,  who  had 
now  come  up.  At  first  they  declined  it,  saying  the 
water  was  for  me  and  the  children.  I  had  now  the 
happiness  of  seeing  the  children  enjoy  a  meal  of  tea  and 
biscuits ;  and  then  once  more  filling  up  my  two  bottles, 
I  sent  the  calabash,  with  the  remainder  of  its  contents, 
to  my  husband,  who  by  this  time  stood  greatly  in  need 
of  it.  The  distance  was  about  twelve  miles.  I  afterwards 
found  that  we  were  about  the  same  from  the  water." 

Through  Bushmanland,  where  on  more  than  one 
occasion  the  track  was  lost,  they  proceeded  slowly ;  now 
waiting  for  guides,  now  in  terror  of  lions,  now  delayed 
by  the  breaking  of  waggon-wheels,  the  sinking  of  the 
waggons  in  the  sand,  or  the  want  of  water.     "  A  mis- 


ROBERT  MOFFA  T.  247 

sionary,"  as  Robert  Moffat  says,  "  must  be  able  to  put 
his  hand  to  anything."  "I  had  to  exercise  my  skill  as 
a  waggon-mender,"  says  Mr.  Mackenzie.  *'  I  had  to  put 
in  a  false  nave  in  one  of  the  wheels,  which,  with  my 
materials,  was  a  most  difficult  undertaking.  A  shoemaker 
or  a  cabinetmaker  making  and  inserting  a  set  of  false 
teeth  v.'ould  be  in  a  position  somewhat  analogous  to 
mine." 

Now  and  then,  owing  to  the  fact  that  in  some  districts 
in  the  hot  season  there  may  be  no  water  for  hundreds 
of  miles,  the  party  had  frequently  to  take  very  indirect 
roads.  "  One  does  not  mind  a  roundabout  road,"  said 
good  old  Mebalwe  when  a  new  route  was  proposed, 
"provided  we  have  water  on  it"  This  expresses  the 
whole  character  of  travel  in  the  African  interior.  Often 
there  were  difficulties  with  the  guides.  They  would 
disappear  in  search  of  water  for  themselves  at  the  most 
critical  points,  and  all  that  was  then  left  for  the  party 
was  simply  to  unyoke  the  oxen  and  take  such  rest  as 
they  could.  In  a  little  time  the  defaulters  would  come 
back;  and,  on  being  asked  the  reason  of  their  sudden 
disappearance,  they  would  say  that  "the  sun  had  killed 
them,  and  they  had  gone  on  to  drink."  Nevertheless, 
the  guides  were  on  the  whole  faithful,  and  disinterestedly 
considered  in  most  cases  what  was  best  for  all  the  party. 
Instead  of  recriminating  on  them  when  they  returned, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  acknowledges  that  the  party  were  always 
deeply  relieved  to  see  them  again. 


248  ROBERT  MO  IF  AT. 

When  they  reached  the  Zouga,  they  were  warned 
against  proceeding  towards  Linyanti  because  of  the 
tsetse,  whose  bite  is  so  fatal  to  the  oxen ;  and  they  were 
told  that  all  the  teachers  who  had  gone  last  year  to 
Makololo  were  dead  save  one.  Not  believing  these 
reports,  they  went  on  ;  and  while  moving  along  the  banks 
of  the  Zouga  they  were  met  by  Mr.  Price  returning, 
who  confirmed  the  report  ihey  had  heard.  Dr.  Living- 
stone had  not  come  forward  to  introduce  them  to  the 
people,  having  been  detained  on  the  lower  parts  of  the 
Zambesi.  The  chief  had  compelled  the  missionaries  to 
live  with  him,  and  would  not  consent  to  their  going  to 
seek  out  a  healthy  place  of  settlement  for  themselves. 

"  He  refused  to  remove  to  the  highlands  of  Tabacheu, 
and  objected  to  the  missionaries  going  to  reside  in  She- 
sheke,  insisting  that,  as  they  had  come  to  teach  them, 
they  should  live  where  he  lived.  The  missionaries  soon 
saw  that  whatever  influence  Dr.  Livingstone  on  his 
arrival  might  be  able  to  exert  upon  Sekeletu  and  the 
Makololo,  in  his  absence  there  was  no  hope  of  removing 
to  the  highlands  north  of  the  Zambesi."  But  the  mis- 
sionaries began  to  preach  and  to  teach,  crowds  coming 
to  hear  them,  till,  unfortunately,  fever  broke  out  amongst 
them.  The  children  went  first,  then  Mrs.  Helmore  fell 
asleep,  and  in  a  few  days  Mr.  Helmore  followed  her. 
The  people  did  not  seem  to  care  whether  they  died  or 
lived.  The  property  of  the  mission  was  openly  stolen 
whilst  Mr.   Price  lay  prostrated  with  fever.     When  he 


/ 

ROBERT  MOFFAT.  249 

recovered,  the  same  rapacity  was  practised,  and  it  was 
evidently  encouraged  by  the  chief.  In  fact,  he  came  to 
Mr,  Price's  quarters  himself,  and  carried  away  several 
things,  guns  and  ammunition  amongst  others,  Mr.  Price 
was  not  allowed  to  go  away  till  he  was  completely  robbed. 
He  urged  that  if  they  did  not  let  him  go  away  soon  they 
would  have  to  bury  him  beside  the  others.  The  reply 
was,  that  he  might  just  as  well  die  there  as  anywhere 
else.  After  a  good  deal  of  talk  and  representation  he 
was  allowed  to  proceed.  "  Already,"  he  says,  "  they  had 
taken  all  my  bed-clothing  with  the  exception  of  what 
was  just  sufficient  for  one  bed.  But  before  my  oxen 
could  cross  the  Chobe,  I  had  to  deliver  up  one  blanket. 
Every  grain  of  corn  which  I  had  for  food  for  the  men 
they  had  taken;  and  I  did  not  get  even  a  gcat  for 
slaughtering  on  the  road.  These  were  my  prospects  for 
a  journey  of  upwards  of  a  thousand  miles  to  Kuruman." 
Mr.  Price  had  suspicion  of  foul  play  and  of  poison 
having  been  given — a  suspicion  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  does 
not  countenance,  preferring  to  believe  charitably.  But 
there  can  be  little  doubt,  we  imagine,  that  the  Mambari, 
or  half-caste  Portuguese,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  trading 
with  the  Makololo  for  ivory  and  for  slaves,  would  use 
every  means  in  their  power  to  poison  the  minds  of  the 
Makololo  against  the  new  missionaries  and  Dr.  Living- 
stone. Their  interest  lay  in  doing  so ;  and  such  wretches 
as  these  will  always  act  for  their  own  interest.  Mr.  Price 
thus  summed  up  his  personal  experiences  at  Linyanti : — 


250  ROBERT  MOFFAT. 

*'  If  suffering  in  mission  work  is  doing  anything,  then  I 
have  done  something ;  if  not,  then  I  have  done  but 
little." 

There  was  now,  therefore,  nothing  for  it  but  that  the 
missionaries  should  turn  their  backs  on  Linyanti.  They 
preached  in  various  Makoba  villages  on  their  way,  some 
of  which  had  been  before  visited  by  missionaries ;  Lechu- 
latebe,  the  chief  of  the  Batowana,  urging  that  a  "  teacher" 
should  be  sent  among  his  people,  as  he  had  before  gladly 
heard  the  truth,  though  it  had  now  almost  died  away 
from  the  memories  of  him  and  his  people.  After  some 
trials  from  fever,  Kuruman  was  reached  on  the  14th  of 
February,  and  Messrs.  Mackenzie  and  Price  were  glad 
to  find  themselves  once  more  in  a  Christian  home  under 
the  roof  of  Mr.  Ashton,  Mr.  Moffat's  able  and  trusted 
coadjutor. 

Just  when  another  journey  to  Makololo-land  was  being 
meditated  by  Mr.  Mackenzie,  on  account  of  Sekeletu 
having  solemnly  promised  to  remove  to  Tabacheu  on 
his  arrival,  the  news  reached  Kuruman  of  that  chief's 
death.  There  was  a  contest  for  the  chieftainship,  and 
much  bloodshed  followed.  The  tribe  was  so  decimated 
by  internecine  strife,  that  it  soon  became  a  prey  to  the 
weaker  neighbours,  who  had  formerly  been  periodically 
despoiled  by  it,  and  who  now  united  to  put  an  end  to 
the  existence  of  the  common  enemy.  Mr.  Mackenzie 
then  settled  at  Shoshong,  the  capital  of  the  Bamangwatos 
country,  on  the  borders  of  the  Kalihari  desert.     Here  he 


ROBER T  MOFFA  T.  251 

was  very  successful.  He  then  undertook  a  journey  to 
tlie  Matabele,  and  remained  there  for  five  months.  Not- 
withstanding the  liking  Moselekatze  had  had  for  the 
white  man,  it  was  clear  that  it  is,  above  all  things,  diffi- 
cult to  do  away  with  heathen  practices  in  a  warlike  tribe, 
trained  as  they  had  been,  and  to  subdue  their  greed  and 
bloodthirstiness.  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  offered  a  site  for  ' 
a  mission  and  the  same  freedom  as  Mr.  John  Moffat  and 
the  rest  had  at  Inyate ;  but  Mr.  Mackenzie  fancied  he 
was  bound  to  remain  at  Shoshong,  and  told  the  chief 
that  he  could  not  decide  till  he  had  consulted  his 
superiors.  This  elicited  the  commendations  of  the  chief : 
"  This  is  how  the  white  men  prevail  \  by  the  obedience 
which  they  render  to  superiors,"  said  he. 

"  When  I  last  saw  Moselekatze  he  was  very  ill,  unable 
to  lift  the  cup  to  his  lips,"  writes  Mr.  Mackenzie.  "  I 
was  heartily  sorry  for  him,  and  was  glad  to  be  able 
to  say  that  his  own  missionaries  would  be  able  to  help 
him  as  to  medicines,  as  they  had  done  before.  To 
show  the  respect  entertained  by  the  chief  for  mission- 
aries, and  something  akin  to  the  dignity  attaching  to  his 
own  character,  I  may  mention  that,  as  we  entered  the 
yard  previous  to  my  final  interview,  we  were  informed 
by  an  attendant  that '  we  must  not  be  offended,  the  chiefs 
heart  was  white  towards  us,  but  there  would  be  no  shaking 
of  hands  that  day.'  We  soon  saw  the  reason ;  the  chief 
had  not  power  to  move  his  arms  from  where  he  lay." 

The  ingrained  military  habit  of  the  Matabele  people 


252  ROBERT  MOFFAT. 

has  been  much  against  their  thorough  acceptance  of 
Christianity ;  but  a  great  change  has  been  already 
effected,  which  is,  no  doubt,  only  the  evidence  and 
pledge  of  a  still  greater  change.  The  missionaries  have 
always  been  regarded  with  favour;  and  in  one  of  their 
more  recent  battles  under  Lobengole,  the  successor  of 
Moselekatze,  the  missionaries  were  allowed  to  attend  to 
the  enemy's  wounded  along  with  their  own. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  returned  again  to  Shoshong,  where  he 
laboured,  with  much  good  result,  till  his  return  to 
England  in  1870;  doing,  little  by  Uttle,  much  for  the 
cause  of  truth  in  the  interior  of  South  Africa.  The 
work  at  Shoshong  was  left  in  the  hands  of  a  native 
teacher — Khamane — in  whom  Mr.  Mackenzie  has  great 
confidence.  He  informs  us  that  at  the  date  of  the 
publication  of  his  work  he  had  had  two  letters  from 
Khamane,  written  by  himself  in  his  own  language,  in 
which  he  states  that  all  the  recognised  members  of  the 
congregation  continue  to  attend  the  weekly  services ;  but 
that  the  members  of  the  "  outer  circle  "  have  fallen  off 
during  Mr.  Mackenzie's  absence.  But  Mr.  Mackenzie 
can  add  these  hopeful  words  : — "  I  am  persuaded,  how- 
ever, that  the  new  religion  has  taken  such  root  at 
Shoshong  as  that,  with  a  supply  of  Christian  literature, 
it  would  not  readily  disappear,  even  if  left  to  itself" 
He  has  since  returned  to  his  field  of  labour. 

As  for  Mr.    Moffat,  Kuruman  was  with  him  hence- 
forth  but   a    centre  for  many  and   varied   journeys  to 


ROBERT  MOFFAT.  253 

points  of  interest.  His  son,  Mr.  John  Mofifat,  who 
came  to  Kuruman  to  act  as  his  father's  assistant  in 
preaching  and  printing  when  Mr.  Ashton  left,  tells  how 
that  his  father,  though  then  threescore  and  ten,  shared 
with  him  the  labour  of  riding  to  distant  villages  to  preach 
01  hold  prayer-meetings.  But  the  untiring  energy  of 
the  old  man  could  not  hold  out  always;  and  in  1870, 
he  and  Mrs.  Moffat  returned  to  England,  after  he  had 
served  in  the  most  trying  portions  of  the  missionary  field 
for  upwards  of  fifty  years.  Looking  back  on  his  life,  it 
seems  a  very  marvellous  one.  He  himself  is  able  un- 
consciously to  summarise  the  result  of  his  labours  thus : 
— "  Christianity  has  already  accomplished  much.  When 
first  I  went  to  Kuruman  scarcely  an  individual  could 
go  beyond.  Now  they  travel  in  safety  as  far  as  the 
Zambesi.  Then  we  were  strangers,  and  they  could  not 
understand  us.  We  were  treated  with  indignity  as  the 
outcasts  of  society,  who,  driven  from  among  our  own 
race,  took  refuge  with  them.  But,  bearing  in  remem- 
brance what  our  Saviour  underwent,  we  persevered,  and 
much  success  has  rewarded  our  efforts.  Now  it  is  safe 
to  traverse  any  part  of  the  country,  and  traders  travel 
far  beyond  Kuruman  without  fear  of  molestation. 
Formerly  men  of  one  native  tribe  could  not  travel 
through  another's  territory,  and  wars  were  frequent. 
Where  one  station  was  scarcely  tolerated,  there  are 
several.  The  Moravians  have  their  missionaries ;  the 
Berlin  Society,  theirs.     Others,  too,  are  occupied  in  the 


254  ROBERT  MOFFAT. 

good  work,  besides  many  native  gospel  preachers.  Very 
prosperous  is  our  advanced  station  at  Matabele,  who,  I 
quite  expect,  will  one  day  become  a  great  nation.  They 
sternly  obey  their  own  laws ;  and  I  have  noticed  that 
when  men  of  fixed  principles  become  convinced  of  the 
truth  of  Christianity,  they  hold  firmly  to  the  faith  and 
are  not  lightly  shaken." 

In  these  few  words  we  have  Robert  Moffat's  biography 
in  essence  and  spirit.  And  what  more  needs  to  be 
said  ?  Nothing  ;  save  to  express  the  hope  that  to  the 
aged  servant  of  God  there  may  yet  be  allotted  many 
years  to  see  fruit  growing  up  from  the  seed  which  he 
himself  in  long-past  days  cheerfully  planted  in  much 
faith  and  hope.  He  is  the  centre  of  the  missionary 
history  of  South  Africa — the  connecting-link  between  its 
various  apparently  disconnected  parts ;  and  when  Science 
and  Trade  shall  have  carried  their  lamps  through  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  vast  continent,  discovering  all 
its  outs  and  inns,  they  will  yet  be  compelled  to  cast  a 
generous  and  grateful  glance  back  at  Moffat  as  having 
done  more  than  any  other  man  to  make  their  many 
triumphs  possible. 


(  255  ) 


DR.  JAMES  STEWART  AND  LOVEDALE. 


WHEN  the  proposal  was  being  discussed,  to 
establish  a  monument  to  Dr.  Livingstone 
in  the  shape  of  a  missionary  settlement  on  the  south- 
western shore  of  Lake  Nyassa,  to  be  called  after  him 
Livingstonia,  the  name  of  Lovedale  was  very  frequently 
introduced.  The  new  mission-station,  indeed,  was  to 
be  formed  after  the  model  of  Lovedale  ;  and,  not 
unnaturally,  we  wished  to  know  about  Lovedale,  its 
origin,  its  mode  of  management,  the  work  it  has  done, 
and  is  doing.  So  we  have  gratified  ourselves  by  putting 
together  all  the  information  we  could  get ;  and  believe 
that  our  readers  will  not  be  disinclined  to  receive  an 
epitome  of  it  at  our  hands. 

They  may  remember,  then,  that  in  the  most  interesting 
papers,  which  were  contributed  to  the  pages  of  the  "Sun- 
day Magazine"  by  Dr.  James  Stewart,  on  "Dr.  Livingstone 
and  the  Zambesi,"  he  tells  us  that  his  object  in  joining 
Dr.  Livingstone  was  to  see  for  himself  the  possibility 
of  establishing  a  mission  in  Central  Africa.  For  this 
purpose  he  explored  a  large  section  of  the  Zambesi  and 


256  DK.  JAMES  STEWART. 

the  Shire  river.  The  members  of  the  English  Univer- 
sities' Mission,  in  spite  of  the  sad  loss  of  their  lamented 
head, were  still  striving  to  establish  themselves  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Lake  Shirwa,  on  the  mountain  heights 
to  the  east  of  the  Shire.  But  their  work  looked  only  too 
likely  to  collapse ;  and  when  Dr.  Stewart  returned  from 
his  adventurous  expedition,  the  fate  of  that  mission  was 
taken  as  a  warning  by  those  most  interested.  Dr.  Stewart 
himself  was  unshaken  in  his  conviction  of  the  possibihty 
of  such  an  enterprise;  but,  as  decisive  action  at  that 
time — now  over  thirteen  years  ago — seemed  hopeless, 
he  accepted  Dr.  Duft's  advice  to  proceed  to  Lovedale, 
to  strengthen  the  mission  seminary  there.  "  I  can 
testify,"  says  Dr.  Duff,  "  that  one  of  his  difficulties  was 
the  possible  diversion  from  his  favourite  scheme  of 
invading  Central  Africa,  which  his  acceding  to  such 
a  course  might  entail.  On  the  contrary,  I  took  it 
upon  me  to  assure  him,  that  his  going  to  Lovedale, 
and  helping  to  raise  the  institution  there  to  a  position 
which  might  command  the  respect  and  confidence  of 
the  Cape  Colony  abroad  and  the  Church  at  home, 
would  be  one  of  the  surest  means  of  enabling  him  to 
realise  his  long  and  fondly  cherished  design." 

And  so  it  has  proved.  Dr.  Stewart  may  be  regarded 
as  the  original  proposer  of  the  Nyassa  Mission,  and  his 
practical  experience  gained  at  Lovedale  must  greatly  aid 
him  in  making  effective  efforts  for  Livingstonia. 

"Our  intended  position  at  Nyassa,"  says  Dr.  Duff,  in 


DR.  JAMES  STEWART.  257 

a  graphic  account  of  all  the  arrangements,  "  would  be 
closely  linked,  in  many  ways,  to  Lovedale — receiving 
much  help  from  it,  and  contributing  something  to  it 
in  return — so  that  the  two  missions  would  be  made 
beneficially  to  act  and  react  on  each  other.  If  the 
proposed  settlement  on  Lake  Nyassa,  by  God's  bless- 
ing, succeeded,  it  was  already  Dr.  Stewart's  purpose, 
when  he  went  there  about  a  year  hence  {i.e.,  about  the 
present  time),  to  take  fifty  or  sixty  young  natives  with 
him  to  Lovedale,  train  them  there  in  industrial  habits, 
useful  knowledge,  and,  above  all,  the  truths  of  the 
Christian  faith,  send  them  back  as  propagandists  of 
the  useful  arts  and  true  religion,  and  continue  to  carry 
on  this  reciprocal  process  until  Livingstonia  should 
not  only  have  its  primary  and  secondary  schools,  but  its 
own  higher  gymnasium  and  collegiate  institution  too." 

Though  Livingstonia  was  planned  originally  by  Scot- 
tish Free -Churchmen,  it  has  been  cordially  supported  by 
the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  while  the  United 
Presbyterian  and  other  Churches  have  shown  the 
fullest  sympathy,  and  indeed  supplied  some  of  the 
mission  staff.  A  mission  at  another  point  on  Lake 
Nyassa,  founded  by  the  Established  Church  of  Scot- 
land, is  in  friendly  relationship  and  indeed  in  constant 
communication  with  it ;  boats  and  other  things  being 
held  as  common  property.  Livingstonia  is  thus  in 
the  best  and  highest  sense  non-sectarian;  Dr.  Stewart 
having,  as  we  shall  see,  learned  by  experience  that  it 

R 


258  DR.  JAMES  STEWART. 

would  be  disastrous  to  introduce  the  home  divisions 
among  Africans ;  and  it  is  certain  that  by  this  feature 
of  its  character  also  it  will  be  the  better  and  more 
expressive  monument  of  the  manly,  sympathetic 
Christianity  of  him  after  whom  it  is  rightly  named. 
In  devoting  himself  to  Lovedale,  we  thus  see  that 
Dr.  Stewart,  after  all,  took  the  shortest  and  most 
effective  way  to  work,  when  the  proper  time  arrived,  on 
an  ever-widening  circle,  in  the  interior,  thus  realising  the 
old  truth,  that  "Providence  is  the  best  preparer."  While 
we  leave  him  on  his  way  to  Lake  Nyassa,  let  us  glance 
for  a  little  at  the  history  of  Lovedale. 

Lovedale,  named  after  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Love,  who 
was  for  a  long  period  energetic  Secretary  to  the  Glasgow 
Missionary  Society,  is  situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Chumie,  about  six  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  a  south- 
eastern direction  from  Capetown.  It  is  not,  however, 
the  original  settlement  of  that  name ;  the  first  mission 
buildings  having  been  destroyed  in  the  war  of  1834. 
On  returning  to  resume  their  work  after  peace  had  been 
declared,  the  missionaries  fancied  they  could  make  a 
better  choice.  This  they  seem  to  have  been  successful 
in  doing,  since  Mrs.  Dalziel  in  1870  describes  the 
Lovedale  Buildings  as  "prettily  nestled  among  the 
grassy  hills,  reminding  us  of  Moffat."  *  The  later  deve- 
lopments, which  have  made  Lovedale  more  especially 

*  Quoted  by  the  Rev.  Robert  Hunter  in  his  "History  of  Free 
Church  Missions  in  India  and  Africa,"  p.  349.     T.  Nelson  &  Sons. 


DR.  JAMES  STEWART.  259 

interesting,  were  not  for  several  years  thought  of.  It 
was  simply  an  ordinary  mission-station,  where  earnest 
and  fearless  men  week  by  week  proclaimed  the  truth  to 
a  handful  of  converts — the  number  in  183 1  was  only 
eleven — and  were  ever  making  expeditions  on  this  side 
or  that,  among  the  native  tribes  around  them ;  founding 
new  preaching  stations  wherever  circumstances  would 
permit  In  1841,  the  Rev.  William  Govan,  who  had 
been  home  on  furlough,  was  sent  out  to  establish  a 
seminary,  as  it  was  felt  that  the  education  hitherto  given 
to  the  children  was  too  elementary.  Natives  and 
.  Europeans  were  to  be  associated  on  an  equal  footing  in 
school,  and  taught  to  regard  each  other  with  mutual 
respect.  It  was  hoped  that,  as  in  India,  native  teachers 
and  preachers  would  thus  be  raised  up.  One  peculiar 
fact  was  noted  by  Mr.  Govan,  and  has  been  often 
verified  since :  *'  So  long  as  the  representatives  of  the 
two  races  remained  boys,  they  were  almost  equal  in 
mental  power,  as  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  prizes 
gained  by  the  members  of  each  race  were  almost  exactly 
proportioned  to  the  members  of  that  race  then  in  the  class ; 
but  subsequently  it  was  ascertained  that  when  the  boys 
grew  up  to  manhood,  the  superiority  of  the  Europeans 
became  very  marked." 

In  1844  the  stations  of  the  Glasgow  Missionary 
Society  were  transferred  to  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland, 
and  amid  changes  and  adversities  of  many  kinds,  the 
work  was  pushed  forward,  so  that  in  1847  there  were 


26o  DR.  JAMES  STEWART. 

thirty-seven  communicants  of  various  nations,  and  about 
one  hundred  and  sixty  pupils — boys  and  girls.  In  1849, 
the  Government,  recognising  the  value  of  the  institution, 
gave  it  practical  support,  and  promised  to  increase  it. 
The  great  Kaffir  war  by  and  by  came  on,  and  very  much 
impeded  the  work  ;  but  in  1854,  we  read  that  the  member- 
ship at  Lovedale  had  risen  to  one  hundred  and  sixty. 
In  1855,  Sir  George  Grey,  who  was  then  the  Governor 
of  Cape  Colony,  and  appreciated  highly  the  work  that 
was  being  done  at  Lovedale,  suggested  that  an  industrial 
department  should  be  added.  Sufficient  money  for  this 
was  soon  forthcoming,  and  four  trade-masters  were 
brought  from  England — a  carpenter,  a  mason,  a  wag- 
gon-maker, and  a  blacksmith.  Suitable  workshops  were 
built,  and  apprentices  assigned  to  each.  The  Govern- 
ment paid  the  masters — not  interfering  otherwise  with 
the  direction  of  the  seminary.  This  plan  would  have 
wrought  well,  but  after  Sir  George  Grey  had  returned 
home,  the  Government  support  was  not  continued. 

The  industrial  department  was  not  allowed  to  drop, 
however.  It  was  sustained  with  unflagging  energy  and 
patience.  The  converts  had  now  reached  that  point, 
when  they  were  able  to  give  out  of  their  small  store. 
They  subscribed  to  build  their  own  churches ;  and 
education  began  to  be  so  appreciated  that  it  became 
evident  they  might  by  and  by  be  able  to  pay  to  have 
their  children  taught.  In  1863,  the  number  of  com- 
municants in  the  Lovedale  district  was  t1:ree  hundred  and 


DR.  JAMES  STE  WAR  T.  26r 

forty-five,  and  the  average  attendance  nine  hundred 
and  sixty-five.  The  whole  sum  contributed  to  the 
mission  during  the  seven  years  prior  to  1863  was 
^2000,  and  of  that  no  less  than  jQiTS^  by  the  people 
themselves.  So  matters  went  on,  till  changes  occurred 
in  the  staff  of  the  institution,  and  Dr.  James  Stewart,  as 
we  have  said,  joined  it  in  1865,  soon  to  become  its 
Principal.  He  at  once  set  himself  to  work  to  improve 
the  domestic  condition  of  the  people  in  the  district ; 
managing  to  induce  some  of  them  to  try  the  experiment 
of  "squaring  the  circle,"  i.e.,  building  their  houses  or 
huts  square  instead  of  round  ;  and  he  added  to  the 
number  of  the  trades  in  the  institution,  introducing 
printing.  He  also  added  largely  to  a  library,  which  had 
been  formed,  and  which  he  reorganised,  so  as  to  make 
it  more  easily  available  for  the  public  from  fifty  to 
eighty  miles  round  Lovedale  as  well  as  for  the  institu- 
tion. The  most  notable  change,  however,  that  has 
taken  place  since  Dr.  Stewart's  advent,  is  the  reorganisa- 
tion and  extension  of  the  girls'  schools — the  funds  for 
this  purpose  having  been  collected  by  the  Ladies' 
Society  for  Female  Education  in  India  and  Africa.  The 
great  success  of  this  school,  first  under  Miss  Waterston 
and  then  under  Miss  MacRitchie,  rendered  necessary 
the  enlargement  of  the  premises,  and  a  commodious 
building  for  the  girls'  schools  has  been  the  result. 
But  to  get  a  clear  idea  of  the  work  done,  we  must  make 
abstract  of  a  few  figures  gleaned  from  recent  reports. 


262  DR.  J  A  MES  S  TE  WA  R  T. 

The  total  number  of  all  at  both  institutions,  including 
both  the  educational  and  industrial  departments,  whose 
names  have  been  on  the  books  within  the  year  (1874), 
is  432,  compared  with  393  the  previous  year — made  up 
of  native  boarders  240,  European  boarders  35,  European 
day  pupils  32,  apprentices  40.  In  the  girls'  institution 
there  are  boarders  65,  day  pupils  20.  The  number 
admitted  was  112,  and  from  many  also  going  out,  the 
number  actually  present  at  any  one  time  would  be  about 
340.  There  are  half-a-dozen  white  educated  teachers 
and  half-a-dozen  white  artizans.  The  industrial  training, 
besides  carpentering,  waggon-making,  and  blacksmith 
work,  includes  bookbinding  and  printing,  telegraph 
work,  and  farm  work.  There  are  thirteen  native 
apprentice  blacksmiths  and  waggon-men,  seventeen  are 
employed  as  carpenters  and  others,  and  all  the  rest 
spend  a  couple  of  hours  daily  at  farm  work.  The 
.Kaffirs  are  so  eager  to  get  into  the  institution  that  they 
pay  £s  a-head  for  their  education,  and  the  working 
departments  nearly  sustain  themselves.  Ten  transport 
waggons,  worth  ;^i3oo,  were  turned  out  last  year,  and 
five  thousand  copies  of  a  Kaffir  hymn-book  were  printed, 
besides  many  other  less  important  things. 

The  institution  is  in  the  best  sense  catholic.  Young 
men  are  sent  by  other  Churches  and  very  gladly 
welcomed.  In  a  recent  report  we  read,  "The  object 
of  the  mstitution  is  Christian.  A  consciousness  of 
belonging  to  this  or  the  other  sect  is  not  encouraged 


DR.  JAMES  STEWART.  263 

here,  any  more  than  antipathy  of  race;  and  whatever 
may  be  the  ultimate  form  of  the  South  African  Church, 
we  don't  think  it  advisable  that  all  the  home  sectarian 
antagonisms  should  be  reproduced  on  African  soil." 

The  curriculum  of  education  includes  a  collegiate 
course,  especially  intended  for  those  who  may  desire 
to  become  teachers  or  preachers.  It  comprehends 
an  Arts  Course,  including  Latin  and  Greek,  history, 
mathematics,  natural  philosophy,  chemistry,  botany, 
zoology,  mental  philosophy,  and  logic,  moral  philosophy 
and  political  economy ;  and  a  Theological  Course, 
which  occupies  three  years.  Judging  from  the  text- 
books and  a  specimen  of  the  questions  which  we 
have  perused,  it  is  clear  that  the  examinations  are  no 
such  easy  matter.  There  were  twenty-one  students  in 
the  ordinary  course,  and  twelve  in  the  Theological 
one,  three  having  already  finished  their  studies  in 
theology.  There  is  also  a  preparatory  teachers'  class, 
and  a  teachers'  training  class,  which  averages  fifty-four, 
of  whom  twenty-four  had  last  year  been  selected  for 
special  training.  Two  had  passed  the  Government 
examination,  and  ten  had  gone  out  during  the  year. 
Besides  teaching  in  the  schools,  the  students  hold 
evangelistic  services  and  supply  pulpits  in  the  district, 
and  sometimes  of  their  own  accord  hold  prayer-meetings 
in  the  kraals.  These  services  have  been  conducted  in 
English,  Kaffir,  and  Dutch.  There  are  large  music 
classes ;    and   an    instrumental   band    has    made    rapid 


264  DR.  JAMES  STEWART. 

progress.  There  are  also  literary  societies,  senior  and 
junior,  well  attended. 

In  the  girls'  department  industrial  work  is  combined 
with  teaching,  as  in  the  boys,  and  the  total  receipts  for 
work  done  during  one  year  for  sewing,  washing,  dressing, 
&c.,  was  jQdo. 

Of  the  various  industrial  departments  we  have  not 
left  ourselves  room  to  speak  particularly.  They  seem 
to  vie  with  each  other  in  attaining  good  results ;  only  of 
the  printing  we  must  say  that  the  specimens  we  have 
before  us  of  the  "Kaffir  Express  " — a  newspaper  started  in 
1 87 1,  and  half  in  English,  half  in  Kaffir — show  not  only 
good  "  composition,"  but  really  careful  presswork ;  amply 
justifying  Dr.  Stewart's  appeal  to  his  fellow-missionaries 
for  any  printing  work  they  may  have  to  give.  We  are 
inchned  to  think  that  great  wisdom  was  shown  by  Dr. 
Stewart  in  the  introduction  of  telegraphy  some  years  ago, 
before  it  had  yet  been  thought  of  in  many  institutions 
in  the  home-country.  Several  of  the  natives  are  now 
adepts  in  manipulation,  and  others  are  being  trained. 
This  is  likely  to  prove  a  most  advantageous  industry, 
as  it  has  been  found  at  home.  We  do  not  know  if  a 
small  class  in  photography  would  succeed  there  as  it  has 
done  at  home  in  several  instances.  The  natives,  we 
learn,  are  imitative  and  neat-handed,  and  might  turn 
out  good  photographers ;  and  such  skilled  craftsmen,  we 
presume,  must  be  wanted  already  at  Capetown,  as  they 
will  by  and  by  no  doubt  be  in  other  parts  of  South  Africa. 


DR.  JAMES  STEWART.  265 

We  regret  to  observe  that  loss  is  sometimes  sustained 
in  the  farm  work,  there  as  elsewhere.  But  the  loss 
in  one  direction  is  so  far  counterbalanced  by  gain  in 
others ;  and  we  are  glad  to  observe  that  Dr.  Stewart 
can  offer  a  good  investment  to  capitalists  at  home. 

"The  loss  of  sheep  and  goats  from  the  rains  in  1874 
was  great — three  hundred;  but  this  result  must  be 
ascribed  to  the  necessity  of  farming  without  capital, 
with  which  sheds  might  be  erected.  The  want  of 
capital  need  be  no  mystery  to  those  who  compare  our 
income  with  our  necessary  expenditure,  and  probably 
a  single  glance  into  the  dining-hall  at  the  dinner  hour 
will  satisfy  any  one  as  to  what  the  latter  must  be; 
but  we  must  either  stop  the  work  or  get  on  in  the 
best  way  possible.  Christian  philanthropy  might  find 
a  favourable  investment  in  the  purchase  of  farm  imple- 
ments and  other  plant  for  Lovedale.  The  annual  return, 
for  the  good  of  so  many  African  young  men,  would  not 
be  less  than  twenty-five  per  cent." 

The  mixing  of  European  with  native  youths  in  the 
classes,  &c.,  has  been  found  to  have  a  very  good  effect 
On  this  point  the  Report  for  1874  speaks  well : — 

"  Some  among  our  Europeans  here  are  young  men 
of  superior  talent  and  great  promise,  and  we  would 
be  glad  to  have  more  of  this  higher  class.  They 
have  an  excellent  influence  on  the  native  youths.  The 
two  races  are  separated  entirely  in  boarding.  They 
meet  in  the  classes  and  on  the  grounds.     There  is  here 


266  DR.  JAMES  STEWART. 

not  the  tithe  of  the  danger  which  European  youths  may 
incur  at  their  own  homes  from  contact  with  their  father's 
servants.  The  annual  examination  ought  to  show 
whether  there  is  not  a  healthy  rivalry  between  the  different 
races  in  study.  With  the  same  sets  of  paper,  the 
printed  lists,  which  give  the  percentage  of  marks, 
show  Europeans  and  natives  mixed  without  any  rule. 
Five  of  these  lists  are  headed  by  natives,  who  write 
the  papers  in  to  them  a  foreign  language.  Europeans 
have  a  good  opportunity  here  of  learning  the  Kaffir 
language.  Probably  nothing  so  effectually  prevents 
Europeans  from  having  any  influence  over  the  Kaffirs 
as  ignorance  of  their  language." 

The  following  paragraph  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the 
daily  life  at  Lovedale  : — 

"The  first  or  lowest  year  begins  with  the  junior 
reader  and  simple  rules  in  arithmetic,  and  they  pro- 
ceed onwards  during  the  two  succeeding  years  to 
British  history,  student's  Hume,  geography,  grammar, 
and  arithmetic  to  square  and  cube  root.  The  earliest 
classes  begin  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  for  the 
purpose  of  translation  from  English  into  Kaffir  and 
Dutch  under  native  assistant  masters.  There  are  three 
of  these  classes  in  Kaffir,  and  one  in  Dutch.  Pupils 
attend  these  classes  for  two  years,  as,  after  first  entering 
the  institution,  it  has  been  found  that  without  a  knowledge 
of  English  their  subsequent  progress  is  exceedingly  slow. 
At  eight  o'clock  these  classes  are  dismissed,  and  all 


DR.  JAMES  S TE  WA R  T.  267 

assemble  for  worship  and  breakfast  from  the  educational 
and  work  departments.  At  nine  o'clock  all  the  classes 
in  the  institution  begin  regular  work.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  classes  in  the  college  department,  the  first 
half-hour  in  each  class  is  given  for  religious  instruction, 
based  on  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament, 
the  Gospels,  or  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  From  half- 
past  nine  a.m.  till  one  p.m.  the  classes  in  the  various 
years  go  on  with  the  work  mentioned  above.  At  a 
quarter-past  one  they  assemble  for  dinner.  At  two 
o'clock,  or  three  in  summer,  all  those  not  engaged 
in  trades  meet  for  two  hours  for  work  in  the  fields 
or  in  the  grounds  about  the  institution.  With  the 
exception  of  a  few  married  men,  and  one  or  two 
head  men,  who  have  come  to  the  institution  under 
considerable  disadvantages  from  having  had  to  leave 
their  families  or  their  employments,  all  the  native 
pupils  are  engaged  in  some  kind  of  work." 

When,  four  years  ago,  fees  were  introduced,  it  was 
feared  that  the  numbers  would  fall  off.  This,  however, 
has  not  been  the  case,  the  numbers  having  steadily 
increased.     At  that  time  Dr.  Stewart  wrote — 

"Education  can  never  be  greatly  extended  till  the 
natives  themselves  assist  in  the  work,  and  therefore  we 
levy  fees  in  Lovedale,  and  we  should  be  glad  to  see  all 
similar  places  doing  the  same.  It  is  not  to  press  heavily 
on  the  native  that  we  propose  this,  but  because  the 
benefit  of  education  cannot  be  widely  diffused  till  the 


268  DR.  JAMES  STE  WA  R T. 

natives  themselves  assist ;  because  a  fair  proportion  of 
them  are  able  to  pay ;  and  because  there  is  abundance 
of  employment  in  the  country  for  those  who  are  willing 
to  work." 

Dr.  Stewart  at  one  place  wisely  remarks,  *'  Our 
experience  of  'civilising  apart  from  Christianising  the 
native,'  leads  us  to  expect  but  small  results  from  the 
former  alone."  He  is  only  verifying  an  experience 
common  to  India,  Africa,  and  the  South  Pacific,  when 
he  writes  as  he  does  in  this  passage  : — 

"The  class  we  find  the  most  troublesome  and  the 
least  promising,  are  those  whose  views  of  things  and 
general  mental  attainment  are  as  yet  uninfluenced  by 
the  habits  and  opinions  of  civilised  life.  There  are 
some  who  absorb  the  contents  of  school-books  very 
rapidly,  and  who  are  yet  in  all  their  sympathies,  likings, 
and  beliefs  little  different  from  those  who  have  had  no 
such  advantages.  We  observe  that  it  takes  a  good 
many  years  before  the  influences  and  modes  of  civilised 
thought  come  to  be  adopted  by  many  who  come  here. 
When  the  information  contained  in  these  books  is  only 
received  into  the  mind  without  influencing  the  views  of 
the  individual  in  favour  of  Christianity  and  civilisation, 
the  result  is  generally  a  large  amount  of  pride  and  self- 
conceit,  which  renders  many  comparatively  useless,  and 
effectually  stops  all  further  mental  and  moral  growth." 

With  all  drawbacks,  however,  it  does  speak  highly  for 
the  Kaffirs  that  they  have  shown  so  much  self-denial  and 


DR.  JAMES  STEWART.  269 

self-help.  And  certainly  Dr.  Stewart  is  well  justified  in 
claiming  credit  for  them,  as  he  does  here : — 

"During  1873,  the  Fingoes,  Kaffirs,  and  other  natives 
have  paid  ;:{^8oo  for  education.  For  the  new  Industrial 
and  Educational  Institution  in  the  Transkei,  ;^i5oo. 
Total  native  payments  during  1873,  ;;^230o.  It  is 
doubtful  if  any  facts  similar  to  these  have  occurred  in 
connection  with  any  single  institution  in  the  mission 
field  in  any  part  of  the  world  during  the  past  year." 

The  story  of  that  Transkei  institution  deserves  to 
be  made  widely  known,  because  it  shows  better  than 
almost  anything  else,  the  decision  and  hopefulness  of 
the  people. 

"  Some  short  time  ago  the  natives  of  a  district  known 
as  the  Transkei,  beyond  the  frontier  of  the  Cape  Colony, 
asked  that  a  branch  of  Lovedale  Missionary  institution 
might  be  erected  within  their  territory.  Dr.  Stewart 
visited  them,  and  at  a  meeting  with  their  head-men, 
said,  *  Probably  that  would  be  done  if  they  would  raise 
at  least  ;,^iooo  as  a  proof  that  they  were  in  earnest.' 
He  recommended  them  to  take  the  matter  back  to  their 
villages,  and  discuss  the  subject  thoroughly  among  them- 
selves, and  give  their  answer  to  Captain  Blyth,  the 
British  resident  in  the  Transkei.  In  a  fortnight  a  large 
meeting  was  held,  at  which  more  than  a  thousand 
natives  were  present,  and  they  agreed  to  undertake  the 
work.  Five  months  afterwards  Captain  Blyth  wrote  to 
Dr.    Stewart, — '  Come   up ;   the   money   is    ready.'     A 


zyo  DR.  JAMES  STEWART. 

second  meeting  was  then  held,  also  in  the  open  air. 
On  a  small  table  were  placed  the  contributions  of  the 
people,  in  the  shape  of  a  heap  of  silver  and  gold — but 
mostly  the  former — amounting  to  ^{^1484,  increased  to 
_;!^i5oo  before  the  close  of  the  day.  The  proceedings 
were  short  and  business-like.  The  meeting  did  not  last 
more  than  an  hour.  The  native  speeches  might  all  be 
condensed  into  an  expression  used  by  one  head-man. 
Pointing  to  the  heap  of  money,  he  said,  '  Now,  there  are 
the  stones,  go  on  and  build." 

Mr.  TroUope,  in  his  "  South  Africa,"  when  treating  of 
Kaffir  schools,  gives  a  very  good  account  of  Lovedale, 
presenting  in  a  summary  the  facts  we  have  given.  He 
is  a  witness  not  at  all  likely  to  err  on  the  side  of 
sentimental  admiration  of  such  an  institution,  unless  its 
conduct  is  associated  with  elements  not  too  frequently 
met  with  in  such  work.     He  says  : — 

"Lovedale  is  a  place  which  has  had,  and  is  having, 
very  great  success.  It  has  been  established  under 
Presbyterian  auspices,  but  is  in  truth  altogether  un- 
denominational in  the  tuition  which  it  gives.  I  do  not 
say  that  religion  is  neglected,  but  religious  teaching  does 
not  strike  the  visitors  as  the  one  great  object  of  the 
institution.  The  schools  are  conducted  very  much  like 
English  schools,  with  this  exception,  that  no  classes  are 
held  after  the  one  o'clock  dinner.  There  are  various 
masters  for  the  different  classes,  some  classical,  some 
mathematical,  and  some  devoted  to  English  literature. 


DR.  JAMES  STE  WAR T.  271 

When  I  was  there,  there  were  eight  teachers,  independ- 
ent of  Mr.  W.  Buchanan,  who  was  the  acting  head  or 
president  of  the  institution.  Dr.  Stewart,  who  is  the 
permanent  head,  was  absent  in  Central  Africa.  At 
Lovedale,  both  the  boys  and  girls,  black  and  white,  are 
mixed  when  in  school  without  any  respect  to  colour. 
Lovedale  at  present  owns  a  flock  numbering  2000. 
The  native  lads  are  called  in  to  work  two  hours  each 
afternoon ;  they  cut  dams  and  make  roads  and  take 
care  of  the  garden.  Added  to  the  school  are  workshops 
in  which  young  Kaffirs  are  apprenticed.  The  carpenter's 
department  is  by  far  the  most  popular,  and  certainly  the 
most  useful.  There  they  make  much  of  the  furniture 
used  about  the  place,  and  repair  the  breakages.  The 
waggon-makers  come  next  to  the  carpenters  in  number; 
and  then,  at  a  long  interval,  the  blacksmiths.  Two 
other  trades  are  also  represented — printing,  namely,  and 
bookbinding. 

"  This  direction  of  practical  work  seems  to  be  the  best 
such  an  institution  can  take.  I  asked  what  became  of 
these  apprentices,  and  was  told  that  many  among  them 
established  themselves  in  their  own  country  as  master 
tradesmen  in  a  small  way,  and  could  make  a  good 
living  among  their  Kaffir  neighbours.  But  I  was  told 
also  that  they  could  not  often  find  employment  in  the 
workshops  in  the  country,  unless  the  employers  used 
nothing  but  Kaffir  labour.  The  white  man  will  not  work 
along  with  the  Kaffir  on  equal  terms 


272  DR.  JAMES  STEWART. 

"  I  do  not  imagine  that  a  Kaffir  printing-press  will  for 
many  years  be  set  up  by  Kaffir  capital  and  conducted  by 
Kaffir  enterprise.  It  will  come,  probably,  but  the  Kaffir 
tables  and  chairs,  and  the  Kaffir  waggons  should  come  first. 
At  present  there  is  a  '  Lovedale  News '  published  about 
thrice  a  month.  '  It  is  issued,'  says  the  Lovedale  printed 
Report,  '  for  circulation  at  Lovedale,  and  chiefly  about 
Lovedale  matters.'  The  design  of  this  publication  was  to 
create  a  taste  for  reading  among  the  native  pupils.  *  It 
has  been  carried  on  through  twelve  numbers,'  says  the 
Report,  *  with  a  fair  prospect  of  success,  and  rather  more 
than  a  fair  share  of  difficulties.'  .... 

"  To  see  a  lot  of  Kaffir  lads  and  lasses  at  school,  is  of 
course  more  interesting  than  to  inspect  a  seminary  of 
white  pupils.  It  is  something  as  though  one  should  visit 
a  lion-tamer  with  a  group  of  young  lions  around  him. 
The  Kaffir  has  been  regarded  at  home  as  a  bitter 
and  almost  terrible  enemy,  who,  since  we  first  became 
acquainted  with  him  in  South  Africa,  has  worked  us 
infinite  woe.  The  Kaffir  warrior  with  his  assegai,  and  his 
red  clay,  and  his  courageous  hatred,  was  a  terrible  fellow 
to  see.  And  he  is  still  much  more  of  a  savage  than  the 
ordinary  negro  to  whom  we  have  become  accustomed  in 
other  parts  of  the  world.  It  was  very  interesting  to  see 
him  with  a  slate  and  pencil,  wearing  his  coarse  clothing 
with  a  jaunty  happy  air,  and  doing  a  sum  in  subtraction." 

The  "  Lovedale  News,"  of  which  Mr.  Trollope  speaks, 
is    probably   the    "Kaffir    Express,"    which    has    now 


DR.  JAMES  STEWART.  273 

gone  on  for  several  years  ;  and  is  really  a  very  note- 
worthy sheet,  both  in  respect  to  the  attractive  reading  it 
supplies,  and  as  being  in  its  practical  aspect  wholly  the 
product  of  Kaffir  hands.  It  is  as  well  printed  as  some  of 
our  English  weekly  papers. 

As  to  spiritual  results,  the  reports  and  papers  we  have 
read  give  many  pleasing  tokens.  We  cannot  pause  to 
dwell  upon  them.  The  greatest  anxiety  of  those  at 
the  head  of  the  institution  is  to  see  those  in  their  charge 
exhibiting  the  practical  fruits  of  a  Christian  life.  All  else 
is  secondary  to  this;  and  we  can  say  that  a  manly, 
healthy  Christian  influence  pervades  all.  When  Love- 
dales  are  multiplied  a  hundredfold  over  Africa,  the  day 
of  full  deliverance  will  not  be  far  oS. 


(    274    ) 


DR,  WILLIAM  BLACK  AND 
LIVINGSTOiNIA. 


THE  ashes  of  Livingstone  sleep  in  Westminster, 
and  over  them  the  sculptured  stone  speaks  of 
how  he  sought  unswervingly,  in  sickness  and  in  health, 
to  heal  "the  open  sore  of  the  world;"  but  a  still  more 
eloquent  memorial  of  his  life  and  labours  is  to  be  found 
in  the  East  Central  African  Mission  Station,  Living- 
stonia,  which  the  enkindled  enterprise  of  his  country- 
men has  planted.  PubHc  feeling  being  deeply  moved 
by  the  untimely  death  of  the  great  missionary,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  Stewart,  of  Love- 
dale,  Livingstone's  old  yoke-fellow,  it  was  determined 
in  May  1874  to  enter  in  and  possess  the  wide  and 
effectual  door  of  work  which  his  labours  had  mainly 
set  open.  The  Church  of  Scotland  and  the  Free 
Church,  with  unanimous  voice,  embraced  the  idea, 
and  chose  the  great  lake  Nyassa  as  the  site  of  the 
proposed  mission.  Money  —  a  sure  pulse  by  which 
to  test  the  true  from  the  spurious  enthusiasm — flowed 
in  quickly  and  now  the  treasuries  of  the  two  Churches 


DR.  WILLIAM   BLACK. 
Master  Missionaries. 


p.  274. 


DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK.  275 

for  this  special  object  have  received  about  ;^2o,ooo. 
Other  Churches,  caught  by  the  same  wave  of  enthu- 
siasm, have  followed  this  example,  and  have  selected 
other  parts  of  East  Central  Africa  as  fields  of  evan- 
gehsation.  The  Church  Missionary  Society,  with  a 
starting-fund  of  ;^i  2,000,  has  chosen  as  its  sphere 
the  shores  of  the  Victoria  Nyanza  ;  while  at  Lake 
Tanganika,  intermediate  between  the  two  preceding 
stations,  the  London  Missionary  Society,  also  with  a 
commencing-fund  of  ;!^i  2,000,  has  organised  a  third 
new  and  distinct  mission  ;  so  that  it  would  seem  as 
if  the  death  of  Livingstone  has  been  as  powerful  as  his 
life  to  help  mission  work — the  cause  he  at  once  repre- 
sented and  advocated  as  the  hope  of  Africa. 

In  May  1875,  the  first  or  pioneer  band  of  missionaries 
was  sent  out  by  the  Free  Church  to  Lake  Nyassa,  It 
was  guided  by  Mr.  E.  D.  Young,  R.N.,  and  Dr.  Robert 
Laws.  They  started  on  the  latter  half  of  the  journey 
from  Port  Elizabeth  on  6th  July ;  and,  putting  together 
the  pieces  of  their  little  steamer,  the  Ilala,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Zambesi,  they  steamed  up  that  noble  river  and 
its  tributary,  the  Shird,  into  the  great  lake,  the  only 
interruption  to  their  steady  progress  being  the  for- 
midable Murchison  Cataracts.  They  entered  Nyassa 
on  the  morning  of  the  12th  October  at  sunrise,  and 
joyfully  hailed  the  sudden  flood  of  glory  as  a  propitious 
emblem  of  the  advent  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  upon 
its  sin-clouded  and  slave-peopled  shores. 


276  DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK. 

From  that  day  to  this  an  unexampled  prosperity  has 
been  vouchsafed  them.  By  friendly  arrangement  with 
the  neighbouring  chief,  Mapunda,  a  sandy  bay  with 
adjacent  territory  has  been  secured  upon  Cape  Maclear 
as  a  permanent  site,  "  having  a  western  exposure,  while 
sheltered  on  the  east  by  tree-clad  mountains,  and  on 
the  south  by  three  islands."  Here  a  rough  harbour 
has  been  formed,  a  general  building  plan  laid  out, 
and  a  native  population  has  begun  to  settle  under 
the  sheltering  wing  of  their  "fathers,  the  English." 
A  large  reinforcement  reached  the  station  on  21st 
October  1876,  headed  by  Dr.  Stewart,  of  Lovedale, 
and  Dr.  Black,  a  young  and  promising  missionary, 
upon  whom  the  leadership  was  meant  to  fall  after 
the  withdrawal  of  Dr.  Stewart.  This  second  party 
had  been  accompanied  as  far  as  the  Murchison 
Rapids  by  another  band  of  mission-workers,  headed 
by  Dr.  Macklin  and  Mr.  Henderson,  and  sent  out  by 
the  Church  of  Scotland.  They  selected  a  site  near 
Magomero,  and  called  it  "  Blantyre,"  after  the  birth- 
place of  Livingstone. 

At  both  these  stations  schools  have  been  opened, 
and  scholars  are  now  coming  in  plentifully,  while 
religious  services  on  Sabbath  and  week-days  are  regu- 
larly held.  For  this  work  the  native  volunteers  trained 
at  Lovedale  are  of  great  assistance.  Side  by  side  with 
the  teaching,  preaching,  and  healing  of  the  sick,  training 
in  husbandry,  carpentry,  masonry,  weaving,  and  black- 


DR.  WILLIAM  BLA  CK.  277 

smith-work  is  being  carried  on  by  competent  tradesmen 
from  home  attached  to  both  stations.  Cattle,  too,  have 
been  introduced  as  beasts  of  burden,  and,  ultimately, 
it  is  hoped,  as  a  meat  supply.  But  it  is  feared  that 
the  dreaded  tsetse  may  be  in  the  district,  and  upon 
the  absence  of  this  pestiferous  fly  may  be  said  to 
depend  all  possibility  of  agriculture  on  a  large  scale  ; 
and,  what  is  almost  as  important,  all  possibility  of 
bullock-travelling  when  roads  shall  be  made.  So  the 
health  of  the  cows  and  the  calves  is  daily  as  anxiously 
looked  after  as  that  of  so  many  human  beings  threatened 
with  the  plague. 

The  moral  effect  of  the  British  flag  upon  the  local 
slave-trade  has  been  most  wholesome.  Before  the 
mission  was  planted  it  was  estimated  that  across  the 
ferries  of  the  lake  and  along  its  southern  shores  slaves 
were  carried  to  the  number  of  twenty  thousand  per 
annum.  This  has  now  ^  been  very  largely  decreased, 
and  could  be  entirely  checked  if  a  small  armed  party 
were  kept  cruising  about  on  the  lake.  Charged  with 
the  duty  of  considering  the  desirability  of  this,  and 
with  the  survey  of  a  new  route  to  the  coast  from  the 
north  end  of  the  lake,  it  is  cheering  to  know  that  her 
Majesty's  consul  for  Mozambique,  Captain  Elton,  and 
three  others,  are  now  probably  at  Nyassa,  having  passed 
Mazaro  on  the  Zambesi  on  i8th  July  last. 

Already  the  possibility  of  opening  up  trade  with 
these  rich  island  districts  has  had  considerable  atten- 


278  DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK, 

tion.  The  existing  route  is,  as  we  have  seen,  chiefly 
by  river,  with  Port  Elizabeth  as  a  basis.  The  Mur- 
chison  Cataracts  form,  however,  a  huge  break  in  the 
Hne  of  communication.  Everything  going  up  or  down 
must  be  at  that  point  unshipped  and  undergo  porter- 
age for  sixty  miles  over  a  rough  broken  pathway. 
Besides  this  drawback,  the  Portuguese  Government 
have  advanced  claims  to  the  exclusive  right  of  steam 
navigation  of  the  Zambesi,  on  account  of  their  settle- 
ments upon  it,  and  during  the  last  two  years  they  have 
exacted  high  duties  upon  certain  merchandise.  How 
far  their  right  on  both  points  has  a  solid  foundation, 
may  well  be  questioned.  But  a  friendly  settlement  of 
differences  seems  to  be  near;  and  quite  recently  the 
Lisbon  Government  have,  we  learn,  reduced  their  tariff 
upon  duty-charged  goods  to  a  uniform  rate  of  two  and  a 
half  per  cent.  This  route,  therefore,  as  at  once  the 
easiest  and  least  liable  to  interruption,  is  now  being 
perfected  with  a  view  to  developing  trade.  A  new 
porterage-road  at  the  Cataracts,  connecting  the  upper 
and  lower  Shire,  and  passing  through  Blantyre,  has  just 
been  surveyed,  and  its  construction  begun.  The  defray- 
ment of  the  expense  entailed  will  be  solicited  from  the 
International  African  Exploration  Society,  inaugurated 
by  the  King  of  the  Belgians.  Mr.  James  Stewart,  C,E., 
of  the  Punjab,  has  most  generously  given  up  a  year  of 
his  furlough  to  undertake  this  and  other  road  surveys  in 
connection  with  the  new  station. 


DR.  WILLIAM  black:  279 

An  entirely  new  route  to  the  settlement  is,  however, 
now  in  process  of  being  opened  up.     It  is  meant  to  start 
from  Kilwa,  about  latitude  9°,  in  Zanzibar  territory,  and 
strike  the  north  end  of  the  lake  near  the  Mazitu  settle- 
ment of  Ironga.     The  needful  survey  is,   as  we  have 
already  said,  being  now  undertaken  by  Captain  Elton 
and  his  party,  who  will  work  their  way  eastwards,  via 
Mesule  and  Lukose,  to  the  sea-board  terminus.     Kilwa 
has  been  chosen  on  account  of  its  good  harbourage,  a 
serious   deficiency  both    at   Quillimane    and   Zanzibar. 
This  route  will  be  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
in  length,  and  would  meet  equally  well  the  necessities 
of  coast  communication  for  Lake  Tanganika,  by  a  branch 
road  of  one  hundred  miles  more.      Such   a   highway 
would  thus  have  command  of  about  two  thousand  miles 
of  coast  upon  both  lakes,  and,  besides,  would  keep  up 
communication  with  the  vast  territories  beyond,  towards 
the  Lualabo.     Some  Glasgow  merchants  have  sent  out 
an  experimental  trading  expedition  to  Nyassa,  via  Kilwa 
and  Mesule.     It  is  in  charge  of  Messrs.  J.  and  F.  Moir, 
sons  of  a  well-known  physician  in  Edinburgh,  and  they 
are  accompanied  by  Mr.  Maze,  an  engineer  of  much 
practical  experience.     In  all  probability  this  expedition 
and  that  of  Captain  Elton  will  meet  one  another  about 
half-way. 

We  have,  in  our  wish  to  give  a  connected  general  view 
of  the  prospects  of  Livingstonia,  kept  purposely  back 
any  reference  till  now  to  the  first  black  cloud  cast  over 


28o  DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK. 

the  promising  sky  of  the  young  mission.  By  the  loss  of 
the  mails  of  the  "  Cashmere,"  we  are  as  yet  without  the 
full  details  of  the  sad  calamity.  But  the  facts  that 
have  been  received  are  briefly  these.  In  the  beginning 
of  May,  Dr.  Black  was  prostrated  by  an  eighth  or  ninth 
attack  of  fever,  which  rapidly  increased  in  intensity  of 
effect,  and  was  accompanied  by  stupor  and  delirium, 
from  which  he  never  rallied,  in  spite  of  every  attention 
lavished  on  him,  and  on  Monday,  the  seventh  of  the 
month,  he  "fell  asleep  in  Jesus." 

Thus  ended,  half  a  year  after  his  arrival  at  the  lake, 
and  in  the  thirty-first  year  of  his  age,  the  brief  career  of 
a  most  devoted  missionary,  to  whom  the  Church  had 
committed  a  great  trust,  because  he  had  given  promise 
of  great  things. 

The  story  of  William  Black's  life  is  replete  with  interest. 
Permeated  as  it  was  by  one  grand  overmastering  emotion, 
which  governed  implicitly  every  energy  and  faculty,  its 
simplest  events,  to  those  in  sympathy  with  him,  attract 
and  command  notice. 

He  was  the  first-born  of  his  parents,  and,  like  the 
infant  Samuel,  was,  before  his  birth,  consecrated  by  his 
mother's  prayers  to  the  Lord's  service.  His  early  life, 
1846  to  1866,  was  spent  at  his  birthplace,  Dunbog,  a 
sparsely-peopled  rural  parish,  prettily  placed  under  the 
shadow  of  Norman's  Law,  in  the  north-east  district  of 
Fifeshire.  Here  he  grew  up  a  stirring,  daring  boy,  whose 
heart  was  much  more  in  his  play  than  his  lessons.     His 


DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK.  2S1 

fishing-rod,  his  rabbits,  and  his  pigeons  sadly  preoccu- 
pied his  mind,  when  it  should  have  been  centred  upon 
sums  in  proportion,  and  dates  in  history.  And  this 
strong  bias,  which  neither  advising  nor  flogging  was  able 
to  alter,  obstinately  clung  to  him,  as  if  in  the  blood. 
Nature,  not  books,  was  his  delight,  and  every  farmer  for 
five  miles  round  knew  the  bright-eyed,  handsome  face 
of  the  schoolmaster's  son,  and  generally  connived  at  his 
oft-repeated  raids  upon  the  trout,  the  peewit's  eggs,  and 
the  hawks'  nests.  The  Saturdays  were  to  him  elysium, 
for  books  could  then  be  lawfully  shelved,  and  long  ex- 
cursions indulged  in  without  fear  of  consequences. 

Such  a  life  developed  in  him  great  self-reliance,  de- 
cision, and  fearlessness,  so  that  soon  no  errand  was 
thought  too  difficult  for  him  to  execute.  In  illustration 
of  this,  when  about  ten  years  of  age  his  mother  was  taken 
suddenly  ill,  and  the  nearest  help  from  relatives  was  at 
Letham,  a  place  six  miles  over  the  hills,  and  towards 
which  there  was  only  an  imperfect  sheep-track.  But  to 
this  place,  in  the  murk  of  midnight,  Willie  was  the 
appointed  and  ready  messenger,  passing  dauntlessly  in 
his  way  a  spot  which,  in  local  superstition,  was  haunted 
by  the  ghost  of  a  murderess.  There  are  few  men,  not 
to  speak  of  boys,  would  have  cared  for  such  a  walk, 
weirdsome  with  the  shuddering  scream  of  the  curlew, 
and  the  noiseless  spectre-flit  of  the  heron  suddenly  be- 
clouding the  path  as  you  proceed. 

When  about  thirteen,  his  father,  anxious  for  his  more 


282  DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK. 

thorough  education,  entered  him  as  a  pupil  in  Cupar 
Academy,  and  there  the  larger  number  of  advanced 
scholars  of  his  own  age  roused  him  somewhat  to  emulate 
their  application,  and  he  upon  the  whole  made  more 
satisfactory  progress  in  book-learning.  His  old  love, 
however,  of  deeds  of  daring  still  clung  to  him,  and  on 
one  occasion  nearly  caused  him  permanent  bodily  injury. 
A  narrow  ledge  on  the  second  floor  of  the  academy 
runs  externally  from  window  to  window,  and  along  this, 
in  mere  bravado,  he  was  progressing  one  day,  when  he 
fell  heavily  to  the  ground,  where  he  lay  for  a  while 
bruised  and  stunned.  But  as  no  bones  were  broken, 
the  accident  but  sufficed  to  sober  him  for  a  week. 

When  fifteen  he  became  enamoured  of  the  calling  of 
an  architect.  His  mother  unceasingly  hoped  and  sought 
for  him  some  sphere  as  a  worker  for  Christ,  but  he 
having  as  yet  evidenced  no  change  of  heart,  she  allowed 
him  to  follow  his  own  decision.  So,  as  a  training  to- 
wards his  aim,  he  engaged  for  a  time  in  practical  joinei^ 
work  While  thus  employed,  about  the  age  of  nineteen, 
he  became  deeply  anxious  about  his  religious  condition. 
No  special  circumstances  led  to  this  anxiety  other  than 
a  diligent  use  of  his  Bible,  and  his  mother's  earnest 
prayers.  His  distress  was  deep  and  prolonged.  With 
strong  crying  and  tears  he  sought  for  spiritual  peace, 
but,  for  many  months,  he  found  it  not.  The  Lord  was 
thus,  doubtless,  leading  him  to  deep  heart-searching  to 
humble  him,  but  also  to  fit  him  for  after  usefulness  in 


DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK.  283 

his  service.  A  marked  feature  in  his  awakened  state, 
at  this  time,  was  the  fear  of  being  spoken  to  by  others 
on  the  subject  of  his  personal  interest  in  Christ.  So 
that  he  seemed  to  be  at  one  and  the  same  time  anxiously 
seeking,  and  yet  dreading  to  find  the  light.  It  was, 
perhaps,  the  conviction  of—"  I  ought  to  know  and  rejoice 
in  the  truth,  but  I  don't,  and  am  ashamed  to  say  so." 
There  was  one  whom  he  specially  shunned,  the  family 
physician,  Dr.  John  Lyell,  a  skilful  and  much-esteemed 
practitioner  in  Newburgh.  He  was  so  well  known  for 
speaking  pointedly  to  others  about  their  interest  in  the 
Saviour,  that  when  William  saw  his  gig  approach  he 
invariably  went  and  hid  himself. 

Pursuing  still  his  desire  of  being  an  architect,  he  in  his 
twentieth  year  entered  a  suitable  office  in  Sl  Andrews. 
It  was  in  this  ancient  city,  while  thus  occupied,  in  1867, 
that  he  passed  through  the  great  crisis  of  his  life,  and 
lost  his  doubts  and  fears  by  a  clear  apprehension  of  the 
simplicity  of  salvation  through  faith  in  Jesus.  As  in  the 
case  of  many  more,  led  like  him  through  prolonged  dark- 
ness, the  joy  and  comfort  of  assurance  was  such  as 
compelled  him  to  proclaim  it  to  all  around.  It  seemed 
to  him  that  if  he  did  not  speak  the  very  stones  would 
cry  out.  So,  *'  straightway  he  preached  Christ  "  in  the 
streets,  and  became  very  bold  in  his  appeals  to  the 
consciences  of  the  careless,  insomuch  that  many  reckoned 
him  "a  pestilent  fellow."  Shortly  before  he  left  for 
Livingstonia  he  had  the  great  joy  of  coming  on  traces 


9.S4  DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK. 

of  the  fruit  of  such  work.  He  had  been  speaking  at 
Stirling  upon  the  subject  of  the  mission,  and  at  the 
close  a  young  man  came  up  and  shook  hands  with  him, 
saying,  "  I  know  you.  You  are  the  street-preacher  of  St. 
Andrews  ! "  The  truth  then  heard  had  impressed  him, 
and  it  had  at  length  led  to  his  conversion.  Strange  to 
say,  the  same  week  he  had  a  letter  from  another  young 
man  in  Columbia,  U.S.,  telling  of  the  blessing  he  had 
got  from  his  meetings  in  St.  Andrews,  and  that  he  was 
now  himself  working  for  Christ  in  the  backwoods. 

From  this  time  onwards  the  work  of  grace  in  his  soul 
gradually  deepened,  and  he  began  to  long  for  a  complete 
consecration  of  all  his  energies  and  time  in  direct  work 
for  the  Saviour.  The  wish  was  at  first  but  dimly  shaped 
in  his  mind,  as  the  barriers  toward  its  realisation,  in  the 
shape  of  money  and  education,  were  apparently  insuper- 
able. But  a  mother's  prayers  had  to  be  answered,  and 
so  the  missionary  spirit  took  deeper  root  in  his  heart, 
and  the  lions  in  the  way  lost  their  awe-inspiring  appear- 
ance as  he  was  led  up  to  them. 

With  characteristic  fortitude  he  began  at  once  to 
revise  and  extend  the  studies  that  he  had  so  slighted  in 
former  years.  Burdensome  beyond  idea  was  the  work 
he  now  went  through,  in  rearing  for  himself  a  solid  and 
permanent  basis  of  exact  scholarship.  But  with  un- 
shaken determination  he  sternly  girt  himself  to  the  work, 
saying,  "  What  has  been  done  can  be  done,  and  why  not 
by  me  ?  "      But  while  these  efforts  were  in  time  crowned 


DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK.  2S5 

by  a  moderate  success,  he  never  shut  his  eyes  to  the  fact 
that  many  an  aching  head  and  sleepless  night  might 
have  been  saved  him,  and  better  work  been  done,  if  he 
only  had,  while  a  boy  at  school,  been  as  diligent  in 
study  as  he  had  been  in  play. 

Meanwhile,  Dr.  Lyell,  of  Newburgh,  the  family  doctor, 
had,  in  the  providence  of  God,  relinquished  the  ordinary 
practice  of  his  profession  and  become  superintendent 
of  the  Glasgow  Medical  Missionary  Society.  Knowing 
Mr.  Black's  missionary  longings,  he  in  1870  offered 
him  an  assistantship  in  his  dispensary.  This  was  joy- 
fully accepted,  and  the  Christ-like  work  of  the  medical 
missionary,  as  there  seen  by  him  from  day  to  day,  de- 
cided him  as  to  the  branch  of  service  for  J  esus  to  which 
he  ought  to  devote  himself.  His  resolution  was  warmly 
approved  of  and  forwarded  by  Dr.  Lyell,  and  the  same 
winter  saw  him  enrolled  as  a  medical  student  in  Glassrow 
University.  Thus  the  difficulties  towards  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  object  vanished  as  he  went  forward. 

For  about  three  years  he  continued  helping  in  the 
Medical  Mission  work,  making  the  while  steady  progress 
in  the  systematic  study  of  the  art  of  healing.  He  was 
greatly  liked  by  the  poor,  his  generous  and  sympathetic 
nature  readily  begetting  their  confidence  and  gratitude. 
Not  content  with  the  opportunities  of  usefulness  he 
enjoyed  at  the  dispensary,  he  started  cottage  meetings 
in  an  out-of-the-way  and  remote  corner  of  the  city.  His 
memory  yet  lingers  in  the  place,  and  to  this  day  the 


2S6  DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK. 

Medical  Mission  receives  more  patients  from  tliat 
locality  than  from  districts  as  destitute  situated  much 
nearer  to  its  chief  centre  of  work.  In  the  college  his 
religion  was  not  hid,  and  his  fellow-students  soon  knew 
that  Black  was  a  "revivalist."  Occasionally  they  sought 
to  make  him  the  butt  of  their  ridicule  ;  but  his  quid  pro 
quo  was  usually  so  pointed  that  his  would-be  castigators 
soon  tired  of  their  work.  On  one  occasion  his  reply, 
perfectly  justifiable  in  self-defence,  so  exasperated  his 
tormentor  that  he  lifted  his  hand  to  strike  him.  Black, 
with  that  quiet  impressiveness  which,  when  he  lost  self- 
consciousness,  seemed  his  natural  mood,  placed  his 
large  and  firm  hand  gently  upon  the  shoulder  of  the 
passionate  youth,  and  said,  "  Why,  man,  were  I  minded 
I  could  strike  you  down  at  a  blow ;  but  what's  the 
use  ? "  And  with  a  few  more  words  about  the  folly  of 
quarrelling,  the  enemy  of  the  one  moment,  before  he 
quite  understood  how,  became  the  friend  of  the  next. 

The  Glasgow  University  Medical  Students'  Christian 
Association  was  started  at  this  time,  and,  through  the 
kindness  of  the  Senate,  the  free  use  of  one  of  the  class- 
rooms was  given  it  for  its  meetings.  Mr.  Black,  pro- 
minent in  its  organisation,  delighted  greatly  in  its 
Saturday  gatherings,  and  during  the  last  winter  of  his 
studies  became  its  president.  These  meetings  still  con- 
tinue, and,  while  usually  devotional,  are  varied  about 
once  a  month  by  an  address  from  some  senior  member  of 
the  profession. 


DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK.  287 

In  1872  Mr.  Black  was  selected  as  the  Paterson 
Bursar  (a  bursary  restricted  to  students  in  training  for 
medical  mission  work),  in  itself  a  high  testimony  of  the 
esteem  in  which  he  was  deservedly  held.  In  1873, 
having  resigned  his  assistantship  at  the  Medical  Mission, 
as  the  hours  of  duty  prevented  lecture  attendance,  he 
had  the  further  honour  of  being  chosen  a  district  mis- 
sionary to  the  Free  Barony  congregation,  of  which  the 
Rev.  James  Wells  was  then  minister.  Into  his  direct 
duties  in  this  office  he  threw  himself  with  great  zeal, 
besides  identifying  himself  with  and  helping  all  depart- 
ments of  the  Christian  work  of  the  Church.  His  Sab- 
bath evening  Bible-class  was  one  of  his  most  attractive 
and  most  useful  works.  The  membership  was  of  both 
sexes,  and  not  uncommonly  a  hundred  and  fifty  were 
under  his  instruction  on  such  occasions.  Over  them  he 
exercised  a  kind  of  magnetic  power,  securing  their  rapt 
attention,  not  by  any  novelty  of  style  or  matter,  but  by  the 
golden  bond  of  a  perfect  sympathy.  He  came  so  along- 
side of  his  hearers  that  he  seemed  to  hold  the  hand  and 
speak  in  the  ear  of  each. 

Having  very  largely  the  gift  of  organising,  and  that 
enthusiasm  which  begets  enthusiasm,  he  had  a  wonder- 
ful power  of  getting  others  to  work.  A  band  of  some 
thirty  young  men  gave  themselves  up  to  his  leadership, 
and  his  own  earnest  spirit  was  soon  largely  infused  into 
them.  Cottage  meetings  and  district  tract  distributions 
were  never  before  so  extensively  undertaken  as  through 


288  DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK. 

them.  Influenced,  too,  by  his  example,  a  number  of 
these  are  now  working  and  studying  towards  various 
departments  of  mission  work.  One  of  them,  indeed, 
has  become  the  new  Paterson  Bursar,  and  will,  in  due 
time,  doubtless  walk  in  his  steps  and  devote  himself  to 
the  foreign  field. 

In  this  way  the  winter  passed  of  1873-74,  In  the  suc- 
ceeding one,  he  unfortunately  decided  to  carry  on  simul- 
taneously with  his  studies  in  medicine  theological  studies 
at  the  Free  Church  College.  The  Paterson  Bursary 
enjoins  on  the  acceptor  that  two  years  should  be  spent 
in  such  studies  before  or  after  graduation  in  medicine. 
He  chose,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  imprudently  chose, 
to  begin  those  new  studies  before  he  had  finished  the 
others.  So  that  at  one  and  the  same  time  he  was  a 
student  of  medicine,  a  student  of  theology,  and  a  district 
missionary.  This  blunder  was  destined  to  bear  its  own 
punishment.  His  health,  by  the  excessive  tax  such 
engagements  made  upon  it,  and  by  a  reduction  of  the 
hours  of  rest,  became  in  the  course  of  the  session 
seriously  impaired,  and  he  was  thus  compelled  to  abate 
his  unceasing  application.  One,  however,  while  grieving 
over  his  mistake  and  its  disastrous  result,  cannot  but  envy 
and  admire  that  perfervid  zeal  which  seduced  him  from 
a  sober  judgment  of  his  own  powers  of  performance. 
A  burning  desire  for  present  usefulness  and  early  com- 
plete consecration  to  direct  mission  work  consumed  him. 
He  said  in  deeds  what  others  have  in  words,  "better  to 


DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK,  2S9 

wear  out  than  to  rust  out;"  forgetting,  however,  that 
undiminished  continuity  of  force,  in  both  rehgion  and 
physics,  is  much  more  influential  than  momentary 
intensity. 

The  severe  strain  upon  Mr.  Black's  strength  was  at 
this  time  such  that  often  he  could  not  get  sleep  but  from 
the  use  of  opiates.  Nor  need  we  wonder  at  it  when  we 
read  from  his  own  hand  (in  his  *'  Opus  Dei,"  an  occasional 
diary)  what  he  compressed  within  the  compass  of  four- 
and-twenty  hours.  We  give  the  last  entry  in  the  book, 
slightly  abridged : — 

"March  28,  1875.  Sabbath.  This  has  been  a  day  of 
great  work. 

"i.  Among  the  young  men  at  8*30.  Subject,  'The 
unpardonable  Sin.' 

"  2.  Among  the  Kirk  Street  children,  1 1  o'clock. 
Some  of  the  little  darUngs  wept  when  I  told  them  that 
this  was  presumably  the  last  time  I  would  be  among 
them  as  chairman.  Most  of  the  monitors,  too,  were 
weeping.  May  God  bless  them  all !  I  feel  very  sorry 
myseh  to  part  with  them. 

"3.  Afternoon.  Went  with  Mr.  Russel  as  a  deputa- 
tion for  the  Students'  Missionary  Association  to  Free 
St  Matthew's.  Both  of  us  received  great  attention. 
Results,  over  ;^i3  to  the  Livingstonia  fund. 

"  4,  My  Bible  Class  at  5  "30.  A  large  attendance,  and 
unusually  attentive.  Many  cried,  specially  the  young 
women,  when  I  said  that  I  should  likely  not  meet  them 


290  DR.  WILLIAM  BLACK. 

again  as  their  teacher.  I  shook  hands  with  all  of  them  as 
they  retired.  May  I  meet  them  all  in  heaven.  They  wish 
to  give  me  some  present  before  I  sail  for  Bombay,  but 
I  have  no  time  to  arrange  a  meeting.  The  question 
was  put  to  me,  'But  if  you  don't  come  back,  what 
shall  we  do  with  the  money  ? '     I  said,  *  Give  it  to  Jesus.' 

*'  5.  I  took  the  evening  meeting  in  the  hall.  It  was 
crowded,  and  all  the  people  were  very  attentive.  My 
subject  was  *  Hid '  (Col.  iil  3).  Lord,  make  impressions 
for  eternity." 

The  reference  to  Bombay  made  above  refers  to  the 
medical  advice  which  he  had  received,  to  take  complete 
rest  and  a  thorough  change.  He  accordingly,  a  few 
days  after  the  Sabbath's  work  just  detailed,  spent  three 
months  as  surgeon  of  the  steamship  Macedonia,  making, 
during  that  time,  a  voyage  out  to  India  and  back.  This 
seemed  thoroughly  to  recruit  his  shattered  health,  and 
his  worst  symptoms,  before  he  returned,  seemed  entirely 
removed. 

During  the  preceding  year  he  had  been  introduced 
to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stewart,  of  Lovedale,  the  promoter  of 
the  Livingstonia  Mission,  as  a  suitable  head  for  that  new 
centre  of  evangelisation.  And  so  greatly  had  his  zeal 
and  general  ability  impressed  those  who  knew  him  that 
on  their  recommendation  he  was,  before  the  completion 
of  his  studies,  appointed  to  be  the  head  of  the  mission 
under  Dr.  Stewart.  This  was  an  opening  entirely  after 
his  own  heart.     He  coveted  pioneer  work.     Indeed  his 


DR.   WILLIAM  BLACK.  291 

great  love  of  nature  from  boyhood,  and  his  trade  experi- 
ence in  early  life,  in  addition  to  his  other  acquirements, 
made  him  peculiarly  suitable  for  the  post. 

His  aim  was  in  due  time  attained,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1876  he  had  the  pleasure  of  graduating  in  Glasgow 
University  as  M.B.  and  CM. ;  while  a  few  weeks  after- 
wards he  was  ordained,  by  the  Glasgow  Presbytery  of 
the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  to  the  ministry,  after  an 
abridged  theological  course,  by  special  authorisation  of 
the  Assembly.  Numerous  presentations,  tokens  of  the 
sympathy  and  approval  with  which  himself  and  his  work 
were  viewed,  were  showered  upon  him.  So  warm,  in- 
deed, was  the  **  God  speed  you "  expressed  by  all,  that 
the  young  missionary  felt  that  if  the  path  to  duty  had 
been  toilsome  and  laborious,  his  achieved  position,  as 
the  Church's  chosen  herald,  was  worth  it  all ;  and  he 
saw  that  he  was  being  sent  out  strengthened  and  sup- 
ported by  her  united  prayers,  and  that  no  lukewarm 
interest  would  be  taken  in  his  future  career.  He  had 
also  the  blessed  consciousness  of  his  mother's  joy.  The 
long-cherished  and  oft-repeated  desire  of  her  heart, 
that  her  first-born  should  be  a  worker  for  Christ, 
was  thus,  in  His  own  time  and  way,  heard  and 
answered. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  early  in  1875  the  first 
Livingstonia  Mission  party  left.  A  reinforcement  to 
this  first  party  now  fell  (May  1876)  to  be  led  by  Dr. 
Black ;  and  it  was  accompanied  by  another  goodly  band 


292  DR.   WILLIAM  BLACK. 

of  pioneer  missionaries,  sent  out  by  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, under  Dr.  Macklin,  who,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
have  occupied  a  new  centre  of  operation  at  Blantyre, 
near  the  Cataracts.  This  large  company,  after  being 
enthusiastically  welcomed  in  Cape  Colony,  and  receiving 
an  important  native  contingent  from  Lovedale,  started 
for  Nyassa,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Stewart.  The  party, 
on  the  2ist  of  October,  reached  their  destination  with- 
out serious  mishap ;  and  Dr.  Black,  though  prostrate 
from  fever,  managed  to  crawl  on  deck  and  join  in  the 
shout  of  triumph  and  psalm  of  thanksgiving  that  could 
not  be  restrained  as  their  little  steamer  glided  towards 
the  mission  settlement  at  Cape  Maclear.  Here,  as  we 
already  know,  after  six  months  of  unwearied  toil,  so 
joyfully  endured,  so  heartily  performed,  was  he  sum- 
moned home,  by  a  fresh  attack  of  fever,  to  receive  from 
his  Master's  loving  hands  the  conqueror's  palm  ;  and 
from  His  gracious  lips  that  welcome,  more  enviable  than 
the  loftiest  niche  in  the  temple  of  fame,  "Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy 
Lord." 

Our  purpose  is  all  but  done.  We  have  attempted  to 
show  what  was  the  calling  and  the  training  of  the  mis- 
sionary which  the  cause  of  Livingstonia  has  lost.  His 
labours  in  that  distant  field  we  have  indicated  rather 
than  traced,  for,  brief  as  they  have  been,  are  they  not 
written  in  the  chronicles  of  the  Church  ?  But  over  his 
boyhood  and  early  years  we  have  lingered  more  lengthily, 


DR.  [VILLI AM  BLACK.  293 

and  have  tried  to  bring  out  that  God's  grace  made  him 
what  he  was — a  noble  type  of  just  such  a  missionary  as 
Africa  needs ;  a  man  with  a  Christ-hke  spirit,  an  in- 
domitable will,  an  unflagging  zeal,  and  a  consuming 
passion  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 


(    294    ) 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON  AND  THE 
SOUTH  PACIFIC. 


THERE  are  some  chosen  lives  which  present  a  unity 
of  aspiration  and  effort  such  as  is  generally  to 
be  found  only  in  fiction.  The  life  of  John  Coleridge 
Patteson  belongs  to  this  class.  His  lamented  death,  at 
the  hands  of  the  natives  at  Nukapu,  filled  England  with 
sorrow ;  but  it  was  wholly  in  keeping  with  the  tenor 
of  his  labours  and  his  aspirations.  Had  he  himself  been 
asked  whether  he  would  desire  to  die  quietly  in  England 
at  home  among  his  own  people,  or  among  the  dusky 
tribes  he  had  gone  forth  to  teach,  and  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  witness  most  effectually,  in  after  times,  to  the  great 
cause  he  had  at  heart,  he  would  assuredly  have  preferred 
the  latter.  Though  he  cherished  the  most  affectionate 
remembrances  of  friends  and  of  home,  he  had,  in  fact, 
ceased  in  much  to  regard  himself  as  "  being  from  home  " 
amid  the  races  of  the  South  Pacific.  His  one  purpose  was 
to  civilise  and  to  Christianise  them,  hold  them  as  friends 
and  brothers,  training  up  those  who  were  most  fit  for 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESOKT.  295 

helpers  in  his  work,  that  he  might  send  forth  men  of 
their  own  blood  to  extend  the  field.  While  still  a  mere 
youth,  under  the  noble  influence  of  his  mother  and  the 
friendship  of  Bishop  Sehvyn,  he  had  dedicated  himself 
to  this  object,  never  knowing  secondary  calls  ;  but  he 
had,  as  we  shall  see,  not  a  few  defects  and  faults  to 
contend  against ;  and  one  great  lesson  of  his  life,  there- 
fore, may  lie  in  tracing  out  the  way  in  which  he  subdued 
them,  and  made  them,  in  fact,  become  helps  rather  than 
hindrances  to  him  in  his  great  work.  The  outward 
results  and  the  inner  life,  in  this  case,  have  a  sustained 
harmony,  which  gives  the  Memoir  a  soft  and  subdued 
beauty  that  is  only  too  seldom  to  be  found  in  biography, 
even  missionary  biography,  which  ought  most  liberally 
to  exhibit  it. 

John  Coleridge  Patteson  was  the  eldest  son  of  Sir 
John  Patteson,  who,  after  a  short  but  successful  course 
at  the  bar,  was  raised  to  the  bench  in  1830,  and  of 
Frances  Duke  Coleridge,  daughter  of  Colonel  Coleridge, 
elder  brother  of  the  poet,  Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge. 
The  Patteson  family  thus  stood  in  close  relationship  to 
another  family  which  has  given  judges  of  highest  repute 
to  the  English  bench ;  and  the  pathway  to  society  and 
to  eminence  in  various  walks  of  life  was  in  this  way 
thrown  open  to  any  scion  of  the  house.  Coleridge,  or 
**  Coley "  Patteson,  as  he  was  named  by  his  family  and 
friends  in  boyhood,  was  born  in  Bedford  Square,  London, 
in  1827.     In  his  childhood  he  showed  great  thoughtful- 


296  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON. 

ness  as  vvell  as  quickness,  being  able  to  read  by  his  fifth 
year — on  his  birthday  receiving  from  his  father  the  Bible 
which  was  used  at  his  consecration  as  bishop  twenty- 
seven  years  afterwards.  We  are  told,  "He  read  it 
eagerly,  puzzled  his  brains  as  to  what  became  of  the 
fish  during  the  Flood,  and,  when  suddenly  called  to  the 
nursery,  begged  to  be  allowed  'to  finish  the  binding  of 
Satan  for  a  thousand  years.'"  Even  from  this  early 
period  the  desire  to  be  a  clergyman  was  cherished. 
Saying  the  Absolution  to  people,  he  thought,  must  make 
them  so  happy.  And  the  purpose,  we  learn,  was  fostered 
by  his  mother.  "No  thought  of  a  family  to  be  made, 
and  of  his  being  the  eldest  son,  ever  interfered  for  a 
moment.  That  he  should  be  a  good  servant  at  God's 
altar  was  to  her  above  all  price."  The  mother  made  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  children  her  especial  care, 
reading  the  Psalms  and  the  Lessons  for  the  Day  with 
them  every  morning  immediately  after  breakfast.  "  His 
old  nurse  (still  his  sister's  valued  servant)  remembers  the 
little  seven-years-old  boy,  after  saying  his  own  prayers 
at  her  knee,  standing  opposite  to  his  little  brother, 
admonishing  him  to  attention  with,  'Think,  Jemmy; 
think.'  In  fact,  devoutness  seems  to  have  been  natural 
to  him." 

When  eight  years  old  he  was  sent  to  school  at  Ottery 
St.  Mary,  in  Devonshire,  with  which  the  name  of  Cole- 
ridge is  so  intimately  associated;  but  in  spite  of  the 
various  interests  of  the  place,  the  beauty  of  the  surround- 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON.  297 

ing  country,  and  the  quaint  grandeur  of  St.  Mary's 
Church,  Coley  longed  for  home.  And  this  too,  notwith- 
standing that  his  grandparents  lived  at  Heath's  Court, 
close  by,  and  in  the  manor-house  his  uncle,  Francis 
George  Coleridge,  whose  boys  were  just  of  the  age  to 
be  companions  for  him.  His  home-sickness  was  only 
relieved,  indeed,  by  boy-like  failings,  of  which  he  has 
once  or  twice  to  make  confession.  Probably  this  longing 
for  home  had  something  to  do  with  the  "  uninterested- 
ness"  which  his  biograper  tells  us  marked  his  school-life 
here;  but  youth  is  plastic,  and  easily  learns  to  accom- 
modate itself  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  liking  he 
at  this  time  formed  for  outdoor  games  and  sports  had  its 
own  result  in  the  way  of  developing  a  healthy  nature, 
and  modifying  in  many  ways  the  self-conscious  introspec- 
tiveness  to  which  we  soon  detect  some  tendency.  The 
companionship  of  his  younger  brother  at  school  in  the 
latter  period  of  his  stay  at  Ottery,  furnished  him  with  an 
interest,  and  fostered  what  was  always  a  characteristic 
trait — kindness  and  consideration  for  others.  But  this 
consideration  for  others  was  accompanied  even  at  this 
early  period  with  that  utter  bravery  and  power  of 
endurance,  which  is  more  often  formed  at  a  public 
school  than  elsewhere.  We  are  told  that,  "While  at 
Ottery,  he  silently  bore  the  pain  of  a  broken  collar-bone 
for  three  weeks,  and  when  the  accident  was  brought  to 
light  by  his  mother's  embrace,  he  only  said  that  '  he  did 
not  like  to  make  a  fuss.' " 


298  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON. 

If  he  did  not  carry  from  Ottery  the  highest  attain- 
ments in  scholarship,  he  was  a  strong  healthy  lad  when 
in  1838  he  entered  Eton,  very  soon  to  get  glimpses  of 
the  young  Queen  Victoria,  in  the  first  year  of  her 
sovereignty,  going  to  Salt  Hill  to  make  her  youthful 
contribution  to  the  poor  scholars,  according  to  the  old 
custom.  At  Eton  his  career  was  not  marked  by  any 
special  success;  he  had  to  guard  himself  against  the 
love  of  cricket,  in  which  he  continued  to  excel ;  but  his 
affections  and  his  spirit  were  already  receiving  the  first 
signal  determinations  towards  the  course  which  he  finally 
chose.  He  heard  Dr.  Selwyn,  the  newly-made  bishop 
of  New  Zealand,  preach  at  New  Windsor  Chapel,  and 
wrote  home  : — 

"  It  was  beautiful  when  he  talked  of  his  going  out  to 
found  a  church,  and  then  die  neglected  and  forgotten. 
All  the  people  burst  out  crying,  he  was  so  very  much 
beloved  by  his  parishioners.  He  spoke  of  his  perils,  and 
putting  his  trust  in  God ;  and  then,  when  he  had  finished, 
I  think  I  never  heard  anything  like  the  sensation — a 
kind  of  feeling  that  if  it  had  not  been  so  sacred  a  spot 
all  would  have  exclaimed,  *  God  bless  him  ! ' " 

And  then,  as  Providence  would  have  it,  the  impres- 
sion was  deepened  by  an  appeal,  which,  as  often  as  it 
recurred  to  the  memory  of  the  lad,  must  have  aroused 
in  him  new  resolution  and  hunger  for  spiritual  helping. 
Before  the  Selwyns  left  England,  they  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Patteson   family,    when   there   was   much    conversation 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  299 

respecting  the  prospects  of  the  mission  in  the  distant 
Pacific, 

"  Coley  did  not  happen  to  be  then  at  home,  but  when 
the  Bishop  took  leave,  half  in  earnest,  half  in  playful- 
ness, he  said,  *  Lady  Patteson,  will  you  give  me  Coley  ?  ' 
She  started,  but  did  not  say  no  ;  and  when,  indepen- 
dently of  this,  her  son  told  her  that  it  was  his  greatest 
wish  to  go  with  the  bishop,  she  replied  that  if  he  kept 
that  wish  when  he  grew  up,  he  should  have  her  blessing 
and  consent." 

We  are  therefore  not  surprised  to  find  him  ready  to 
forego  the  pleasures  of  cricket  rather  than  identify  him- 
self in  any  shape  with  what  was  coarse  and  degrading : — 

*'  On  the  occasion  of  the  dinner  annually  given  by  the 
eleven  of  cricket  and  the  eight  of  the  boats  at  the  hotel 
at  Slough,  a  custom  had  arisen  among  some  of  the  boys 
of  singing  offensive  songs  on  these  occasions,  and  Coley, 
who,  as  second  of  the  eleven,  stood  in  the  position  of 
one  of  the  entertainers,  gave  notice  beforehand  that  he 
was  not  going  to  tolerate  anything  of  the  sort.  One  of 
the  boys,  however,  began  to  sing  something  objection- 
able. Coley  called  out,  'If  that  does  not  stop,  I  shall 
leave  the  room,'  and  as  no  notice  was  taken,  he  actually 
went  away  with  a  few  other  brave  lads.  Afterwards  he 
sent  word  that  if  an  apology  was  not  made  he  should 
leave  the  eleven,  but  the  feeling  of  the  better  style  of 
boys  prevailed,  and  the  apology  was  made." 

Soon  after  Bishop  Selw}'n's  farewell,  he  was  confirmed, 


300  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON. 

and  a  further  impulse  to  serious  thought  and  self-con- 
secration came  that  same  year  in  the  death  of  his  mother, 
whose  teaching  and  example  had  been  so  benign. 

He  entered  Balliol  College,  Oxford,  in  1845,  and  fell 
into  an  excellent  circle,  from  which  he  derived  much 
good.  Here  he  lost  any  love  for  general  society  he 
might  ever  have  had,  and  cultivated  more  and  more  the 
companionship  that  favours  full  and  frank  expression  of 
deeper  sentiments  and  convictions.  A  visit  to  Switzer- 
land, Rome,  and  Venice  in  185 1  gave  him  much  to  think 
of;  and  in  1852  he  obtained  a  fellowship  at  Merton 
College,  and  went  into  residence  there ',  but  in  the  long 
vacation  of  that  year  he  proceeded  to  Germany,  that 
he  might  study  Hebrew  and  other  languages  more 
favourably  and  cheaply.  His  letters  to  his  family  and 
friends  at  this  time  breathe  the  most  exquisite  devotion. 
While  at  Oxford  he  had  listened,  fascinated,  to  the 
earnest  appeals  of  Dr.  Pusey,  which  were  then  stirring 
many  earnest  minds  ;  but  he  still  kept  a  questioning  in- 
tellect at  work  on  some  of  the  points  involved  in  the 
special  doctrines  presented — a  trait  which  marked  him 
to  the  very  close  of  life,  notwithstanding  that  all  the 
influence  of  family  tradition  inclined  to  make  him  lean 
to  implicit  acceptance  of  these  views.  This  is  proved  by 
the  letters  which  he  wrote  to  his  father  from  Dresden, 
where  he  was  busy  on  languages,  but  also  on  theology 
and  points  of  Church  policy 

In  languages  he  had  real  aptitude,  and  now  he  added 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  FATTESO.Y.  301 

Arabic  to  his  list,  and  soon  was  proficient  in  it.  He 
varies  his  studies  with  such  things  as  a  description  of 
Dresden  fair,  and  long  before  the  time  of  return  home  he 
begins  to  select  presents,  acknowledging  himself  "con- 
cerned about  getting  something  for  everybody."  Return- 
ing to  Merton  College,  he  remained  there  till  the  long 
vacation  of  1853,  prosecuting  his  studies  of  theology 
and  languages,  and  forming  friendships  which  till  his 
death  remained  unbroken.  Mr.  Roundell  says  that,  by 
this  time — "Self-cultivation  had  done  much  for  him. 
Literature  and  art  had  opened  his  mind  and  enlarged  his 
interests  and  sympathies.  The  moral  and  spiritual  forces 
of  the  man  were  now  vivified,  refined,  and  strengthened 
by  the  awakening  of  his  intellectual  and  aesthetic  nature." 
And  Principal  Shairp  thus  succinctly  indicates  the 
elements  that,  now  prominent  in  him,  gave  him  such 
weight  and  practical  influence : — 

"  It  was  character,  more  than  special  ability,  which 
marked  him  out  from  others,  and  made  him,  wherever 
he  was,  whether  in  cricket,  in  which  he  excelled,  or  in 
graver  things,  a  centre  round  which  others  gathered. 
The  impressions  he  left  on  me  were  of  quiet,  gentle 
strength  and  entire  purity — a  heart  that  loved  all  things 
true  and  honest  and  pure,  and  that  would  always  be 
found  on  the  side  of  these.  We  did  not  know,  probably 
he  did  not  know  himself,  the  fire  of  devotion  that  lay 
within  him,  but  that  was  soon  to  kindle,  and  make  him 
what  he  afterwards  became." 


302  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON: 

And  truly  the  flame  soon  leapt  forth  when  the  man 
came  face  to  face  with  the  practical  duties  for  which  he 
had  been  prepared.  He  served  a  rigorous  apprentice- 
ship to  pastoral  work  under  Mr.  Gardiner,  in  the  parish 
of  Alfington,  in  Devonshire,  before  taking  orders.  He 
found  the  parish  in  a  mournfully  low  condition  ;  the 
morals  of  the  people  were  such  as  would  only  have 
shocked  and  disgusted  many  a  young  man  of  high  ambi- 
tion and  pure  mind,  and  rendered  him  wholly  helpless. 
But  Patteson's  practical  foresight  and  tact  soon  made 
themselves  felt,  no  less  than  a  faculty  for  organisation 
such  as  even  his  nearest  friends  had  not  suspected  to 
exist  in  him.  And  he  took  very  decided  measures  when 
he  had  once  estimated  the  real  need  of  the  people.  The 
only  efficient  means  he  could  light  on  as  a  first  step 
towards  improvement  was  the  establishment  of  homes 
for  boys  and  girls,  where  they  could  be  preserved  from 
the  contamination.  His  first  effort  was  for  a  boys'  home, 
in  which  he  had  the  support  of  all  the  more  thoughtful 
people.  He  thus  gives  his  sister  his  idea  of  the 
project : — 

"  I  shall,  of  course,  begin  with  only  one  or  two  boys 
— the  thing  may  not  answer  at  all ;  but  every  one, 
Gardiner,  several  farmers,  and  one  or  two  others,  quite 
poor,  all  say  it  must  work  well  with  God's  blessing.  I 
do  not  really  wish  to  be  scheming  away,  working  a 
favourite  hobby,  &c,,  but  I  do  believe  this  to  be  ab- 
solutely essential.     The  profligacy  and  impurity  of  the 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESO.V.  303 

poor  are  beyond  all  belief.  Every  mother  of  a  family 
answers  (I  mean  every  honest,  respectable  mother  of  a 
family) :  '  Oh,  sir,  God  will  bless  such  a  work  :  and  it  is 
for  want  of  this  that  so  much  misery  and  wretchedness 
abound.'  I  believe  that  for  a  year  or  so  it  will  exhaust 
most  of  my  money,  but  then  it  is  one  of  the  best  uses  to 
which  I  could  apply  it ;  for  my  theory  is,  that  help  and 
assistance  is  wanted  in  this  way,  and  I  would  wish  to 
make  most  of  these  things  self-supporting.  Half  an  acre 
more  of  garden,  thoroughly  well  worked,  will  yield  an 
astonishing  return,  and  I  look  to  Mary  as  a  person  of 
really  economical  habits.  It  is  a  great  relief  to  have 
poured  all  this  out.  It  is  no  easy  task  that  I  am  prepar- 
ing for  myself.  I  know  that  I  fully  expect  to  be  very 
much  disappointed,  but  I  am  determined  to  try  it.  I  am 
determined  to  try  and  make  the  people  see  that  I  am 
not  going  to  give  way  to  everybody  that  asks ;  but  that 
I  am  going  to  set  on  foot  and  help  on  all  industrial 
schemes  of  every  kind,  for  people  of  every  age.  I  am 
hard  at  work,  studying  spade  husbandry,  inspectors* 
reports  of  industrial  schools,  &c." 

He  remained  and  ministered  as  curate  at  Alfington 
after  his  ordination,  winning  the  hearts  of  the  people,  so 
that  they  came  to  look  upon  him  as  peculiarly  their 
own;  the  wrench  of  parting  being,  of  course,  all  the 
more  painful,  when,  on  the  arrival  of  Bishop  Selwyn  in 
England  for  a  short  furlo'Jgh,  all  Patteson's  aspirations 
for  missionary  life  were  revived.     Opening  his  mind  to 


304  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESO^. 

Bishop  Selwyn  on  the  matter,  he  proposed  that  he 
should  not  leave  England  while  his  father  lived.  The 
bishop  answered,  "  You  should  not  put  off  till  you  are 
on  in  life.  It  should  be  done  with  your  full  strength 
and  vigour."  His  father's  first  exclamation  on  being 
told  of  his  son's  desire  was,  "  I  can't  let  him  go  !"  but 
in  a  moment  he  added,  '*  God  forbid  I  should  stop 
him  ! "  The  matter  was  discussed  by  Bishop  Selwyn 
and  Sir  John,  who,  notwithstanding  the  comfort  he 
felt  in  having  his  son  near  him,  said,  at  length,  "  What 
right  have  I  to  stand  in  his  way  ?  I  may  not  live  another 
year."  And  when  the  conversation  was  ended  the  father 
said,  "  Mind,  I  give  him  wholly,  not  with  any  thought 
of  seeing  him  again.  I  will  not  have  him  thinking  he 
must  come  home  to  see  me."  When  told  of  this,  the 
young  man  said  at  once  that  he  was  ready  to  go  now. 

Seven  months  later  he  bade  his  family  good-bye.  His 
sisters  stood  at  the  door  till  he  was  out  of  sight ;  then 
going  in,  they  found  the  old  Judge  sitting  silent,  his 
little  Bible  in  his  hand.  Next  day  he  wrote  from 
London :  "  I  am,  thank  God,  calm  and  even  cheerful. 
I  stayed  a  few  minutes  in  the  churchyard  after  I  left 
you,  picked  a  few  primrose  buds  from  mamma's  grave, 
and  then  walked  on." 

His  family  were  not  alone  in  feeling  as  though  de- 
prived of  the  near  presence  of  a  son  and  brother.  The 
Alfington  people  mourned  as  they  had  hardly  done 
before,     "Ah,  sir,"  was  the  schoolmistress's  answer  to 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  305 

some  warm  words  from  Mr,  Justice  Coleridge  in  prai<;e  of 
Bishop  Selwyn,  "he  may  be,  no  doubt  he  is,  a  very 
good  man.  I  only  wish  he  had  kept  his  hands  off 
Alfington  ! "  And  in  this  she  spoke  the  feehngs  of  the 
people,  from  the  old  and  infirm,  whom  the  curate  had 
attended  solicitously,  down  to  the  Sunday-school  chil- 
dren, who  wept  when  they  heard  he  was  about  to  leave 
them.  "  Our  Mr.  Patteson,"  the  people  called  him  to 
the  last. 

His  uncle,  Sir  John  Coleridge,  writing  of  Coley's 
first  sermon,  had  said  :  "  I  bless  God  that  he  is  what  he 
is,  and  that,  at  least  for  a  time,  if  his  life  be  spared,  I 
have  secured  his  services  for  my  poor  people  at  Alfing- 
ton. Many  years  I  can  hardly  expect  to  retain  him 
there ;  but  I  feel  sure  that  so  long  as  he  is  there  he 
will  be  a  blessing  to  them." 

On  the  28th  of  March  1855  he  sailed  from  England 
in  the  "  Duke  of  Portland  "  emigrant  ship.  The  voyage 
was  not  suffered  to  pass  without  its  own  profitable 
occupations.  Of  course,  Bishop  Selwyn  and  the  young 
missionary  were  ready  to  minister  in  many  ways  to  the 
wants  of  those  on  board,  Mrs.  Selwyn  taking  her  share 
in  the  teaching  of  the  young;  but  they  had  their  me- 
chanical pastimes  too,  carpentering  being  one  of  the 
many  quaUfications  required  in  a  missionary  bishop. 
It  has  been  said,  that  if  you  wish  to  know  a  person,  go 
a  long  voyage  with  him.     Many  voyages  went  those  two 

together;  and,  during  this  first  one,  Bishop  Selwyn  set 

u 


306  JOHN  COLtLRIDGE  PATTESON. 

down  what  he  would  have  warmly  endorsed  years  there- 
after :  *'  Coley  Patteson  is  a  treasure,  which  I  humbly 
set  down  as  a  recompense  for  our  own  boys  left  at  home 
at  school.  He  is  a  good  fellow,  and  the  tone  of  his 
mind  is  one  which  I  can  thoroughly  enjoy,  content  with 
the  rl  ail  present,  yet  always  aiming  at  a  brighter  and 
better  future." 

They  arrived  at  Auckland  on  the  5th  of  July,  and, 
reaching  the  college  some  six  miles  distant,  at  once  set 
to  work.  Bishop  Selwyn's  scheme  had  been  to  collect 
young  lads  from  the  distant  islands  of  the  South  Pacific 
— from  Tanna  and  Nengone,  from  New  Caledonia  and 
Lifu,  from  the  Solomon  and  Banks  Islands  and  other 
accessible  groups — and  take  them  to  New  Zealand  for  a 
period  of  the  year  for  training  at  the  college,  returning 
them  again  to  their  respective  homes,  in  the  mission 
ship,  during  the  season  when  the  climate  of  New 
Zealand,  as  it  was  found,  was  too  trying  for  them.  Of 
the  college,  Patteson  says  : — 

"  It  is  really  all  that  is  necessary  for  a  thoroughly 
good  and  complete  place  of  education  :  the  hall  all  lined 
with  Kauri  pine-wood;  a  large,  handsome  room,  col- 
legiate, capable  of  holding  two  hundred  persons ;  the 
schoolroom  eighty  feet  long,  with  admirable  arrangement 
for  holding  classes  separately.  There  are  two  very  cosy 
rooms,  which  belong  to  the  Bishop  and  Mrs.  Selwyn 
respectively,  in  one  of  which  I  am  now  sitting.  .  .  . 
Our  rooms  are  quite  large  enough,  bigger  than  my  room 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PAITESON.  307 

at  Feniton,  but  no  furniture,  of  course,  beyond  a  bed- 
stead, a  table  for  writing,  and  an  old  book-case ;  but  it  is 
never  cold  enough  to  care  about  furniture.  ...  I  clean, 
of  course,  my  room  in  part,  make  my  bed,  help  to  clear 
away  things  after  meals,  &c.,  and  am  quite  accustomed 
to  do  without  servants  for  anything  but  cooking." 

In  fixing  the  limits  of  his  field  of  operations,  Bishop 
Selwyn  had  shown  singular  wisdom  and  breadth  of 
character.  He  had  resolved  not  to  preach  in  any  place 
already  occupied  by  missions,  so  as  not  to  confuse  the 
heathen  with  the  sight  of  variations  among  Christians. 
The  properly  Polynesian  Isles  had  been  all  occupied 
by  the  London  Missionary  Society,  and  a  few  islands 
had  been  taken  in  hand  by  a  Scottish  Presbyterian 
mission;  but  the  groups  which  seemed  to  form  the 
third  fringe  round  the  north-eastern  curve  of  Australia — 
the  New  Hebrides,  Banks  Islands,  and  Solomon  Isles — 
were  almost  entirely  open  ground,  and  to  these  it  was 
that  Coley  Patteson  should  especially  devote  himself. 

Some  years  were  spent  in  preliminary  work  with 
Bishop  Selwyn,  voyaging  among  the  islands  in  the 
"  Southern  Cross  "  (which,  sailing  from  England  on  the 
same  day  as  the  "Duke  of  Portland,"  had  reached 
Auckland  exactly  a  fortnight  after  her),  making  ex- 
cursions into  the  bush;  teaching  the  boys  at  St. 
John's  College,  and  later  at  St.  Andrew's,  Kohimarama, 
and  learning,  practically,  the  thousand  outs  and  ins  of 
missionary  life.     A  certain  docility  of  mind  and  a  happy 


3oS  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON. 

temperament  helped  him  vastly.  He  often  thought  of 
home,  and  father,  and  friends  ;  but  a  second  thought  of 
God's  covenant  care  sufficed  to  calm  and  strengthen 
him ;  and  whilst  it  seemed  that  distance  and  absence 
only  made  him,  if  possible,  more  interested  in  all  that 
concerned  home,  he  was  able  to  apply  himself  to  his 
work  with  complete  devotion  and  oneness  of  mind. 

"  I  have  very  little  time,"  he  writes,  "  for  indulging  in 
fancies  of  any  kind  now — I  begin  to  get  an  idea  of  what 
work  is ;  but  in  my  walks  out  at  night  (if  I  am  awake)  I 
think  of  dear  mamma,  of  your  dead  father,  and  others 
who  are  gone  before,  with  unmixed  joy  and  comfort. 
You  may  be  quite  sure  that  I  am  not  likely  to  forget 
anybody  or  anything  connected  with  home.  How  I  do 
watch  and  follow  them  through  the  hours  of  the  day  and 
night  when  we  are  both  awake  and  at  our  work !  I  turn 
out  at  6.45,  and  think  of  them  at  dinner  or  tea ;  at  ten  I 
think  of  them  at  evening  prayers  ;  and  by  my  own  bed- 
time they  are  in  morning  church  or  busied  about  their 
different  occupations,  and  I  fancy  I  can  almost  see  them. 
So  it  goes  on,  and  still  I  am  calm  and  happy  and  very 
well,  and  I  think  I  am  in  my  place,  and  hope  to  be 
made  of  some  use  some  day.  I  like  the  natives  in  the 
school  very  much.  The  regular  wild,  untamed  fellow 
is  not  so  pleasant  at  first — dirty,  unclothed,  always 
smoking,  a  mass  of  blanket,  his  wigwam  sort  of  place 
filthy,  his  food  ditto ;  but  then  he  is  probably  intelligent, 
hospitable,  and  not  insensible  to  the  advantage  of  hear- 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATl ESONl  309 

ing  about  religion.  It  only  wants  a  little  practice  to 
overcome  one's  English  feelings  about  dress,  civilisation, 
&:c.,  and  that  will  soon  come." 

All  his  hardships  and  trials  but  drew  forth  his  kind- 
liness the  more  thoroughly  There  have  been  men  who 
have  sacrificed  themselves  in  such  work  as  he  under- 
took, who  were  after  all  devoted  merely  to  ideas,  and 
had  but  small  power  of  attracting  individuals.  It  was 
not  so  with  Bishop  Patteson.  He  soon  came  to  like 
his  New  Zealanders  and  Melanesians  as  well  or  even 
better  than  he  would  "  English  boys,  up  to  all  sorts  of 
mischief."  "  Savages,"  he  said,  "  are  all  Fridays,  if  you 
know  how  to  treat  them ; "  and  he  soon  came  to  see  that 
the  "menial  offices,"  as  they  would  be  called,  which  he 
so  cheerfully  undertook,  formed  a  practice  such  as  could 
not  be  matched  for  working  beneficial  changes  upon 
their  habits.  He  would  have  confirmed  the  declaration 
of  the  Maori — "  Gentleman-gentleman  thought  nothing 
that  ought  to  be  done  too  mean  for  him :  pig-gentleman 
never  worked."     He  would  often  write  in  this  strain — 

*'  Every  missionary  ought  to  be  a  carpenter,  a  mason, 
something  of  a  butcher,  and  a  good  deal  of  a  cook. 
Suppose  yourself  without  a  servant,  and  nothing  for 
dinner  to-morrow  but  some  potatoes  in  the  barn,  and  a 
fowl  running  about  in  the  yard.  That's  the  kind  of 
thing  for  a  young  fellow  going  into  a  new  country  to 
imagine  for  himself.  If  a  little  knowledge  of  glazing 
could  be  added  it  would  be  a  grand  thing,  just  enough 


3 TO  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON: 

to  fit  in  panes  to  window-frames,  which  last,  of  course, 
he  ought  to  make  himself.  Much  of  this  cannot  be  done 
for  you.  I  can  buy  window-frames  in  Auckland,  and 
glass,  but  can't  carry  a  man  a  thousand  miles  in  my 
pocket  to  put  that  glass  into  these  frames,  and  if  it  is 
done  in  New  Zealand,  ten  to  one  it  gets  broken  on  the 
voyage,  whereas  glass  by  itself  will  pack  well.  To  know 
how  to  tinker  a  bit  is  a  good  thing,  else  your  only 
saucepan  or  tea-kettle  may  be  lying  by  you  useless  for 
months.  In  fact,  if  I  had  known  all  this  before,  I 
should  just  be  ten  times  as  useful  as  I  am  now.  If  any 
one  you  know  thinks  of  emigrating,  or  becoming  a 
missionary,  just  let  him  remember  this." 

And  this  from  a  man  who  had  shown  himself  not  only 
willing,  but  singularly  ready  and  versatile — apt  at  making 
beds,  and  mending  tea-kettles,  and  doing  odds  and  ends 
of  joinery,  as  well  as  learning  languages  as  if  by  instinct, 
and  with  peculiar  power  of  communicating  knowledge 
to  others.  He  was  indeed  a  typical  missionary,  and, 
though  what  he  says  of  training  is  true  and  valuable,  his 
experience  sufficiently  shows  that  when  the  whole  heart 
is  in  the  work,  everything  yields  to  loving  interest  and 
self-sacrifice. 

The  peculiar  change  of  habits,  the  attempting  to  do 
so  many  unaccustomed  things,  would  have  been  found 
by  many  to  divert  the  mind  from  study ;  but  it  was  not 
so  in  Patteson's  case.  On  the  17th  of  January,  some 
six  months  after  landing  in  New  Zealand,  he  is  able  to 


jOnX  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  311 

compose  and  preach  a  Maori  sermon,  and  soon  there- 
after he  commits  himself  to  extempore  dehvery ;  and 
though  he  has  already  made  some  progress  with  the 
tongues  of  the  Pacific,  his  notes  of  books  read  are 
indeed  surprising.  In  all  this  discipline,  hard  though  it 
seemed,  and  though  he  sometimes  confessed  that  his 
sensibilities  rebelled,  he  had  the  judgment  to  see  clearly 
that  it  was  making  him  "  something  different  from  what 
I  was — ffiore  of  a  man  ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  higher  and 
religious  side  of  the  question,"  Seeing  this  was  the  spirit 
he  carried  into  his  work,  it  is  no  wonder  we  find  Bishop 
Selwyn  saying,  in  a  note  to  Sir  John  Patteson,  in  1857 — 

"  Coley  is,  as  you  say,  the  right  man  in  the  right  place, 
mentally  and  physically  ;  the  multiplicity  of  languages, 
which  would  try  most  men,  is  met  by  his  peculiar  gift ; 
the  heat  of  the  climate  suits  his  constitution ;  his  mild 
and  parental  temper  makes  his  black  boys  cling  about 
him  as  their  natural  protector ;  his  freedom  from  fasti- 
diousness makes  all  parts  of  the  work  easy  to  him  ; 
for  when  you  have  to  teach  boys  how  to  wash  them- 
selves and  to  wear  clothes  for  the  first  time,  the  romance 
of  missionary  work  disappears  as  completely  as  a  great 
man's  heroism  before  his  valet  de  chambre." 

Lady  Martin,  who  had  been  absent  from  New  Zealand 
for  three  years,  and  saw  much  of  him  on  her  return,  thus 
gives  her  impressions  : — 

"It  was  very  pleasant  to  see  him  among  his  boys. 
They  all  used  to  go  off  for  a  walk  on  Saturday  with  him, 


312  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON. 

sometimes  to  town,  and  he  was  as  full  of  fun  with  them 
as  if  they  had  been  a  party  of  Eton  boys.  He  had  none 
of  the  conventional  talk,  so  fatal  to  all  true  influence, 
about  degraded  heathen.  They  were  brethren,  ignorant 
indeed,  but  capable  of  acquiring  the  highest  wisdom. 
It  was  a  joke  amongst  some  of  us  that  when  asked  the 
meaning  of  a  Nengon^  term  of  endearment,  he  answered 
naively,  *  Oh,  it  means  "old  fellow.'"  He  brought  his 
fresh,  happy,  kindly  feelings  towards  English  lads  and 
young  men  into  constant  play  among  Melanesians,  and 
so  they  loved  and  trusted  him." 

But  to  make  in  any  remote  way  clear  the  progress  of 
the  mission,  it  is  needful  that  we  give  some  attention  to 
the  efforts  made,  and  the  results  of  the  work  year  by 
year.  Before  he  had  time  to  receive  the  first  letters 
from  home,  he  had  found  interesting  work  in  classes, 
up-country,  and  in  the  hospital.  This  is  how  he  replies 
to  his  sisters  : — 

"Your  first  letters  upset  me  more  than  once  as  I 
re-read  them,  but  I  think  of  you  all  habitually  with  real 
joy  and  peace  of  mind.  And  I  am  really  happy ;  not 
in  the  sense  that  happiness  presents  itself  always,  or 
exactly  in  the  way  that  I  used  to  feel  it  when  with  you 
all,  or  as  I  should  feel  it  if  I  were  walking  up  to  the 
lodge  with  my  whole  heart  swelling  within  me.  It  is 
much  more  quiet  and  subdued,  and  does  not,  perhaps, 
come  and  go  quite  as  much  ;  but  yet,  in  the  midst  of 
all,  I   half  doubt   sometimes  whether  everything  about 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  313 

and  within  me  is  real.  I  just  move  on  like  a  man  in  a 
dream ;  but  this  again  does  not  make  me  idle.  I  don't 
suppose  I  ever  worked  harder,  on  the  whole,  than  I  do 
now,  and  I  have  such  anxious  work  at  the  hospital. 
Such  cases,  Fan  !  Only  two  hours  ago  I  left  a  poor 
sailor,  by  whose  side  I  had  been  kneeling  near  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour,  holding  his  sinking  head  and 
moistening  his  mouth  with  wine,  the  dews  of  death  on 
his  forehead,  and  his  poor  emaciated  frame  heaving  like 
one  great  pulse  at  each  breath.  For  four  days  that  he 
has  been  there  (brought  in  a  dying  state  from  the 
'  Merchantman ')  I  have  been  with  him,  and  yesterday  I 
administered  to  him  the  Holy  Communion.  He  had 
spoken  earnestly  of  his  real  desire  to  testify  the  sincerity 
of  his  repentance  and  faith  and  love.  I  have  been  there 
daily  for  nine  days,  but  I  cannot  always  manage  it,  as 
it  is  nearly  two  miles  off.  The  responsibiUty  is  great  of 
dealing  with  such  cases,  but  I  trust  that  God  will  pardon 
all  my  sad  mistakes.  I  cannot  withhold  the  Bread  of 
Life  where  I  see  indications  of  real  sorrow  for  sin,  and 
the  simple  readiness  to  obey  the  command  of  Christ, 
even  though  there  is  great  ignorance  and  but  little  time 
to  train  a  soul  for  heaven." 

In  October  1855  he  set  forth  with  the  bishop  in  his 
first  voyage  in  the  "  Southern  Cross."  How  readily  he 
could  adapt  himself  to  the  sea,  and  to  new  circum- 
stances, is  seen  in  the  easy  way  in  which  he  slips  into 
nautical  language  ;  his  happy  ways,  both  with  the  sailors 


314  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON: 

and  the  natives ;  and  his  powers  of  swimming  and 
walking,  which  astonished  them.  At  Waitoki,  in  Queen 
Charlotte's  Sound,  he  is  left,  while  Bishop  Selwyn  goes 
inland.  This  is  a  description  of  dinner  Avhile  on  a 
pedestrian  journey  through  wilds  and  forests : — 

"At  noon  we  dined — biscuit  and  a  slice  of  bacon, 
which  the  two  I^Iaories  cooked  by  sticking  a  piece  of 
wood  through  the  rasher,  and  putting  it  on  the  wood- 
embers.  Like  a  great  light  of  old,  we  ate  our  dinners 
first,  and  our  plates  afterwards,  the  plate  being,  of  course, 
a  biscuit.  The  bishop  went  on  at  i  p.m.,  and  I  started 
back  with  a  Maori  guide,  reaching  the  beach  at  6.30. 
The  people  at  Waitoki  were  rather  surprised  when  they 
heard  that  I  had  been  at  Massacre  Hill  since  seven,  and 
it  was  a  good  walk.  The  wood  was  fine,  some  trees 
huge,  the  white  pines  especially.  Small  green  parrots 
flying  actually  in  coveys,  eight  at  a  time,  and  perching 
close  to  me;  large  red  ones  in  numbers,  pigeons  in- 
numerable, ducks,  &c.,  not  to  forget  the  sandflies  and 
mosquitoes,  which,  indeed,  take  good  care  not  to  be 
forgotten,  though  several  of  the  crew  are  suffering  more 
from  them  than  I  am,  and  I  hope  to  be  mosquito-proof 
some  day." 

The  usual  voyage  to  the  Banks  and  Solomon  groups 
had,  in  1855,  been  intermitted,  owing  to  the  bishop's 
absence  in  England.  Three  months  usually  intervened 
between  the  short  voyage  which  was  undertaken  for  the 
purpose  of  returning  these  lads  to  their  several  homes, 


JOHN  COLE  RID  GE  PA  TTESON.  3  r  J 

and  the  regular  long  missionary  cruise  which  lasted  from 
five  to  six,  or  even  seven,  months,  and  during  which, 
of  course,  the  college  was  directed  by  the  bishop's 
assistants,  who  had  been  carefully  trained  to  the  work. 
This  long  voyage  was  always  taken  during  the  winter, 
for  the  sake  of  the  cooler  weather,  and  to  avoid  the 
dangerous  hurricanes  which  often  arise  in  the  hotter 
season,  and  are  frequently  so  violent  as  wholly  to  alter 
the  appearance  of  the  land. 

The  system  of  education  at  St.  John's  College  com- 
bined agricultural  labour  and  printing  with  study,  and 
the  authorities  and  the  boys  shared  according  to  their 
strength  in  both,  for  there  was  nothing  more  prominent 
in  the  scheme  than  that  the  coloured  man  was  not  to 
be  treated  as  a  mere  hewer  of  wood  and  drawer  of 
water. 

In  1856,  Norfolk  Island  was  visited,  and  Sydney 
harbour  was  touched  at ;  then  a  landing  was  made  at 
Pitcairn  Island,  and  finding  that  Mr.  Nobbs,  who  had 
been  appointed  pastor  there,  would  be  glad  of  help, 
Mrs.  Selwyn  remained  a  short  time.  When  the  bishop 
picked  her  up,  he  confirmed  a  large  number  of  Pit- 
cairners.  Then  they  made  for  Anaiteum  and  the  fatal 
Santa  Cruz,  where  the  people  at  first  presented  arrows, 
but  afterwards  became  more  friendly,  and  made  presents 
of  yams. 

"  The  people,"  says  Patteson,  "  came  out  in  canoes 
with  quantities  of  yams  and  taro,  of  which  they  knew 


3i6  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATIESON. 

the  full  value  ;  but  the  numbers  were  so  large  that  no 
'  quiet  work '  could  be  done,  and  there  was  little  to  be 
done  but  to  admire  their  costume,  armlets,  necklaces, 
plates  of  mother-of-pearl,  but  no  nose  ornaments.  They 
had  strips  of  a  kind  of  cloth,  woven  of  reed,  and  ela- 
borate varieties  of  head-gear,  some  plastering  their  hair 
white  with  coral  lime,  others  yellow,  others  red ;  others 
had  shaved  half  the  head  with  no  better  implement  than 
a  sharp  shell,  and  others  had  produced  two  lines  of 
bristles,  like  hog  manes,  on  a  shaven  crown." 

These  Santa  Cruz  people  were,  however,  very  sus- 
picious and  unmanageable,  with  a  confirmed  bitterness 
and  dislike  towards  Europeans — the  grim  legacy  handed 
down  for  the  manner  in  which,  generations  before,  the 
Spaniards  had  treated  them.  In  spite  of  this,  Mr. 
Whytehead,  the  second  mate  of  the  "  Southern  Cross," 
tells  us,  that  Mr.  Patteson  was  wont  to  say  that  he 
was  sure  he  could  reach  their  confidences  if  he  could 
once  induce  one  of  them  to  spend  six  months  with 
him. 

Bellona  was  next  touched  at,  and  here  it  was  that  the 
bishop  and  Mr.  Patteson  had  to  take  off  their  coats,  and 
with  hatchets  and  adzes,  or  other  things  in  their  hands, 
take  a  good  header  and  swim  ashore.  But  this  never 
dulled  his  eye  for  the  beauty  of  the  scenery,  which  he 
ever  describes  with  enthusiastic  eloquence  : — 

"  Oh,  the  beauty  of  the  deep  clefts  in  the  coral  reef, 
lined  with  coral,  purple,  blue,  scarlet,  green,  and  white  1 


JOHN  COLERID  GE  PA  TTESON.  3 1 7 

the  little  blue  fishes,  the  bright  blue  star-fish,  the  little 
land-crabs  walking  away  with  other  people's  shells.  But 
nothing  of  this  can  be  seen  by  you ;  the  coral  loses  its 
colour,  and  who  can  show  you  the  bright  line  of  surf 
breaking  the  clear  blue  of  this  truly  Pacific  Ocean ;  the 
tropical  sun  piercing  through  masses  of  foliage  which 
nothing  less  dazzling  could  penetrate  ?  .  .  .  I  trod  upon 
and  broke  flowering  branches  of  coral  that  you  would 
have  wondered  at." 

But  admiration  of  the  beautiful  scenery  had  to  go 
along  with  some  degree  of  wariness  amid  the  pleasant 
exploits  of  swimming  ashore  in  these  regions.  Some- 
times groups  of  sharks,  of  half-a-dozen  at  least,  would 
be  seen,  as  at  Rowa,  one  of  the  Banks  group,  making 
havoc  among  the  leaping  shoals  of  fish,  large  and  small, 
in  v;ater  about  four  or  five  feet  deep. 

Even  here,  too,  the  echoes  of  toils  and  strifes  at  home 
from  time  to  time  reach  him :  we  have  significant  record 
of  the  manner  in  which  they  affected  him  in  the  following 
letter : — 

"My  dear  father  writes  in  great  anxiety  about  the 
Denison  case.  Oh,  dear  !  what  a  cause  of  thankfulness 
it  is  to  be  out  of  the  din  of  controversy,  and  to  find 
hundreds  of  thousands  longing  for  crumbs  which  are 
shaken  about  so  roughly  in  these  angry  disputes !  It 
isn't  High  Church  or  Low  or  Broad  Church,  or  any 
other  special  name,  but  the  longing  desire  to  forget  all 
distinctions,  and  to  return  to  a  simpler  state  of  things, 


3i8  JOHN-  COLERIDGE  EATTESOy. 

that   seems  naturally  to  result  from  the  very  sight  of 
heathen  people." 

To  Miss  Neill,  who  had  been  his  governess,  he 
shows  the  utmost  regard  and  affection,  writing  to  her 
often  the  most  touching  letters.  It  is  characteristic 
that  to  her  he  speaks  fully  on  some  points  on  which  he 
is  silent  towards  his  own  sisters  ;  but  her  keen  interest 
in  him,  which  never  abated,  is  another  proof  of  the 
power  he  had  of  attaching  in  closest  bonds  of  affection 
all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  He  writes  to  her 
thus : — 

"You  ask  me,  dear  Miss  Neill,  where  I  am  settled. 
Why,  settled,  I  suppose,  I  am  never  to  be  :  I  am  a 
missionary,  you  know,  not  a  'stationary.'  But,  how- 
ever, my  home  is  the  '  Southern  Cross,'  where  I  live 
always  in  harbour  as  well  as  at  sea,  highly  com- 
passionated by  all  my  good  friends  here,  from  the 
governor  downwards,  and  highly  contented  myself  with 
the  sole  possession  of  a  cosy  little  cabin,  nicely  fur- 
nished with  table,  lots  of  books,  and  my  dear  father's 
photograph,  which  is  an  invaluable  treasure  and  comfort 
to  me.  ...  Of  course,  wherever  the  *  Southern  Cross  ' 
goes,  I  go  too,  and  am  a  most  complete  skipper.  I 
feel  as  natural  with  my  quadrant  in  my  hand  as  of  old 
with  a  cricket-bat.  Then  I  do  rather  have  good  salt- 
water baths,  and  see  glorious  sunsets  and  sunrises,  and 
starlight  nights,  and  the  great  many-voiced  ocean,  the 
winds  and  waves  chiming  all  night  with  a  solemn  sound, 


lOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  319 

lapping  against  my  ear  as  I  lie  in  my  canvass  bed, 
six  feet  by  two  and  a  half,  and  fall  sound  asleep  and 
dream  of  home.  Oh !  there  is  much  that  is  really 
enjoyable  in  this  kind  of  life  ;  and  if  the  cares  of  the 
vessel,  management  of  men,  &c.,  do  harass  me  some- 
times, it  is  very  good  for  me — security  from  such  troubles 
having  been  anxiously  and  selfishly  pursued  by  me  at 
home." 

It  is  very  surprising,  and  sometimes  it  is  touching, 
to  come  on  such  confessions  from  such  a  man.  But 
now,  as  in  youth,  his  distaste  for  mental  exertion 
was  so  great  that  only  a  sense  of  duty  sustained  him 
in  any  effort  requiring  continued  concentration  of 
mind. 

In  the  voyage  of  1857,  he  tells  us  "that  they  visited 
sixty-six  islands,  and  landed  eighty-one  times,  wading, 
swimming,  &c.  All  were  most  friendly  and  delightful," 
he  adds ;  "  only  two  arrows  have  been  shot  at  us,  and 
only  one  coming  near, — so  much  for  savages.  I  wonder 
what  people  ought  to  call  sandal-wood  traders  and  slave- 
masters  if  they  call  my  Mclanesians  savages,"  is  the  tone 
in  which  he  closes  the  record.  The  Banks  Islands,  as 
usual,  were  the  most  hopeful,  Santa  Maria  coming  first. 
Canoes  came  round  the  vessel,  and  the  honesty  of 
the  race  showed  itself,  for  one  little  boy,  who  had 
had  a  fishhook  given  him,  wished  to  exchange  it  for 
calico,  and  having  forgotten  to  restore  the  hook  at  the 
moment,  swam  back  with  it  as  soon  as  he  remembered  it 


320  JOHX  COLERIDGE  PATTESON. 

This  voyage  of  1857  was  further  memorable  for  a 
landing  at  Guadalcanar,  or  Gera,  which  is  thus  de- 
scribed : — 

"  I  slept  on  shore  about  three  miles  up  the  bay  among 
a  number  of  natives,  twenty-five  or  twenty-six  in  the 
same  room  with  me — at  least,  I  lay  down  in  my  things, 
which,  by  the  by,  were  drenched  through  with  salt  and 
rain  water.  They  said  I  was  the  first  white  person  that 
had  been  ashore  there.  They  treated  me  very  well. 
How,  in  the  face  of  all  this,  could  I  run  the  risk  of 
letting  them  think  I  was  unwilling  to  trust  them  ?  " 

The  victory  of  this  trustfulness  had  been  proved  in 
the  landing  at  this  very  place,  when  the  mission  ship 
was,  as  if  though  providentially,  saved  from  being 
stoved  on  a  reef,  and  where,  coming  near  to  the 
natives,  who  were  there  in  crowds,  he  had  to  choose 
between  standing  close  in,  or  letting  go  a  kedge, 
which  might  have  made  them  feel  "  he  does  not  trust 
us."  He  declares  that,  though  perhaps  the  bishop, 
being  an  older  hand,  might  think  his  action  rash,  the 
result  had  fully  justified  it.  "The  natives  behaved 
very  well.  They  gave  me  two  pigs,  about  500  or  600 
cocoa-nuts,  and  upwards  of  a  ton  of  yams,  though 
I  told  them  I  had  only  two  small  hatchets,  five  or 
six  adzes,  a  few  gimlets,  and  empty  bottles  to  give  in 
exchange." 

In  missionary  work,  as  in  more  secular  affairs,  it  may 
therefore   be    said   that   bold    adventure   is   a    needful 


JOHX  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  321 

element  to  accompany  firmness  and  caution.  And  still, 
in  the  midst  of  all  this  labour  and  excitement,  his  study 
of  languages  did  not  pause,  Nengonese  had  become 
almost  as  familiar  to  him  as  Maori,  and  his  Sundays  on 
his  return  home  in  this  year,  1857,  were  decidedly 
polyglot ;  since,  besides  a  regular  English  service  at 
Taranaki,  he  often  took  a  Maori  service  and  preached 
extempore  in  that  tongue,  feeling  that  the  people's 
understanding  went  along  with  him ;  and  there  were 
also,  in  early  morning  and  late  evening,  prayers,  partly 
in  Nengonese,  partly  in  Bauro,  at  the  college  chapel, 
and  a  sermon,  first  in  one  language  and  then  repeated 
in  another. 

Nor  were  the  studies  of  the  sacred  text,  or  the  results 
of  later  learning  in  England,  wholly  neglected.  To  none 
of  these  matters  was  he  indifferent,  as  some  enthusiasts 
have  been.  He  was' intent  on  being  up  to  the  time  in 
regard  to  the  critical  knowledge  of  the  Word  of  God, 
and  all  related  questions.  He  plied  his  friends  with 
requests  for  books  of  value  in  this  kind,  and  often  wrote 
such  letters  as  the  following  : — 

"  Any  really  good  book  on  the  New  Testament,  espe- 
cially dealing  critically  with  the  Greek  text,  I  certainly 
wish  to  have.  I  feel  that  the  great  neglect  of  us  clergy  is 
the  neglect  of  the  continued  study,  most  critically  and 
closely,  of  the  grammatical  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  and 
Greek  text.  ...  I  fear  I  shall  never  be  a  good  Hebrew 
scholar ;  I  can't  make  time  for  it ;  but  a  decent  Greek 


322  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON: 

scholar  I  hope  to  be.     I  work  away,  but,  alas !  only  by 
fits  and  starts." 

In  1858  he  writes  to  his  sister  : — 

"  Things  go  on  in  a  kind  of  routine.  Two  voyages  a 
year,  five  months  in  New  Zealand,  though  certainly  two- 
thirds  of  my  flock  are  fresh  every  year.  .  .  .  And  you 
know,  Fan,  I  can't  write  for  the  world  at  large  anecdotes 
of  missionary  life,  and  swell  the  number  of  the  '  Gems ' 
and  other  trashy  books.  .  .  .  The  school  is  the  real 
work.  Teaching  adults  to  read  a  strange  tongue  is 
hard  work ;  I  have  little  doubt  but  that  the  bishop  is 
right  in  saying  they  must  be  taught  English,  but  it  is  so 
very  difficult  a  language,  not  spelt  a  bit  as  pronounced ; 
and  their  language  is  all  vocalic,  and  so  easy  to  put  into 
writing. 

"  But  if  you  like  I  will  scatter  anecdotes  about — of 
how  the  bishop  and  his  chaplain  took  headers,  hand-in- 
hand,  off  the  schooner  and  round-house ;  and  how  the 
bishop  got  knocked  over  at  Leper's  Island  by  a  big 
wave ;  and  how  I  borrowed  a  canoe  at  Terriko  and 
paddled  out  yams  as  fast  as  the  bishop  brought  them 
to  our  boat,  &c.  ;  but  this  is  rubbish." 

The  question  of  the  advantage  of  forming  a  school  on 
an  island  within  the  tropics  was  one  which  often  sug- 
gested itself  to  the  bishop  and  Mr.  Patteson.  The 
advantages  and  disadvantages  were  so  nearly  balanced, 
that  it  was  difficult  to  fix  on  a  decided  course  of  action. 
First  of  all,  there  was  the  consideration  of  health — some 


JOIIX  COLERIDGE  PATTESON:  323 

of  the  lads  were  much  tried  by  a  residence  of  any  length 
of  time  in  the  cold  climate  of  New  Zealand ;  but  then, 
on  the  other  hand,  there  was  the  consideration  that 
in  the  midst  of  civilisation  the  general  influence  itself 
was  educative.  "  I  can  hardly  have  quite  the  same 
control,"  says  Mr.  Patteson,  *'  over  lads  brought  to  an 
island  itself  wholly  unconverted,  as  I  can  have  over  them 
in  New  Zealand :  but,  as  a  rule,  Melaneisans  are  very 
tractable." 

At  the  same  time,  however,  it  was  thought  best  to  try 
the  experiment,  and  Lifu  was  fixed  upon  in  1858.  On 
June  1 6th,  accordingly,  Mr.  Patteson  was  landed  there, 
for  residence,  having  with  him  twelve  lads  from  the 
north-west  islands  —  from  seven  islands,  speaking  no 
fewer  than  six  languages.  He  and  four  boys  slept  in 
one  of  the  corner  rooms,  the  other  eight  lads  in  another, 
and  the  Rarotogan  teacher,  Tutoo,  and  his  wife,  in  a 
third.  The  central  room  was  parlour,  school,  and  hall, 
and  as  it  had  four  unglazed  windows  and  two  doors 
opposite  each  other,  and  the  trade  winds  always 
blowing,  the  inconvenience  may  be  conceived.  Here 
Mr.  Patteson  in  every  respect  shared  the  life  of  the 
natives — the  main  staple  of  food  being  yams,  with  only 
now  and  then  a  fowl  or  bit  of  pig  for  dinner ;  but,  after 
due  trial,  in  which  patience  did  all  that  patience  could 
do  to  overcome  nature,  it  was  found  that  English 
strength  could  not  be  kept  up  on  an  exclusive  diet  of 
yams.     But  the  Loyalty  Islands  are  not  fruitful :    "  the 


324  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON. 

soil  is  nothing,  indeed,  but  rugged  coral,  upheaved, 
bare,  and  broken,  and  here  and  there  with  pits  that 
have  become  filled  with  soil  enough  to  grow  yams  and 
cocoa-nuts." 

On  August  2,  1858,  he  preached  his  first  two  Lifu 
sermons — "  Rather  nervous,  but  I  knew  I  had  command 
enough  of  the  language  to  explain  my  meaning."  Con- 
stant private  teaching  to  individuals  was  carried  on ; 
250  copies  of  the  Lifu  primer  had  been  dispersed 
where  thousands  were  wanted,  and  Mr.  Patteson 
wrote  a  little  book  of  some  sixteen  pages,  containing 
a  statement  of  the  outlines  of  the  faith,  and  of  scrip- 
ture history ;  but  this  had  to  be  printed  in  New 
Zealand. 

The  many  difficulties  that  had  arisen — including  those 
with  respect  to  variety  of  diet — might  have  been  over- 
come, had  it  not  been  that  perplexities  began  to  arise 
through  the  French  Government  occupying  New  Cale- 
donia, and  the  nearness  of  the  Loyalty  group  becoming 
tempting  to  them.  More  and  more  obstacles  were 
placed  in  the  way  of  the  work.  Mr.  Patteson  soon 
began  to  see  that  the  station  could  not  be  continued 
at  Lifu,  but  he  wrought  on  till  the  time  fixed  for  the 
appearance  of  the  "  Southern  Cross."  She  was  delayed, 
however,  owing  to  an  accident  which  had  befallen  her, 
and  he  thus  vnrote  while  waiting  anxiously  for  her 
appearance  : — 

*'  The  interest  of  the  work  is  becoming   more   and 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  325 

more  absorbing,  so  that,  much  as  there  is  indeed  going 
on  in  your  world  to  distract  and  grieve  one,  it  comes 
to  me  so  weakened  by  time  and  distance,  that  I  don't 
sympathise  as  I  ought  with  those  who  are  suffering  so 
dreadfully  from  the  Indian  Mutiny,  or  the  commercial 
failure,  or  the  great  excitement  and  agitation  of  the 
country.  You  can  understand  how  this  can  be,  per- 
haps ;  for  my  actual  present  work  leaves  me  small 
leisure  for  reflecting,  and  for  placing  myself  in  the 
position  of  others  at  a  distance ;  and  when  I  have  a 
moment's  time,  surely  it  is  right  that  I  should  be  in 
heart  at  Feniton,  with  those  dear  ones,  and  especially 
my  dear  father,  of  whom  I  have  not  heard  for  five 
months,  so  that  I  am  very  anxious  as  to  what  account 
of  him  the  'Southern  Cross'  may  bring." 

The  "Southern  Cross"  had  run  on  a  reef,  and  had 
to  be  re-coppered  ;  and  owing  to  this  delay,  and  the 
bishop's  arrangement  to  start  on  a  confirmation  tour 
among  the  New  Zealanders  in  November,  only  a  few  of 
the  seventy  and  odd  islands  could  be  visited ;  but  they 
had  no  fewer  than  four  Pitcairners  and  forty-seven 
Melanesians  on  board,  of  whom  three  were  young 
married  women,  and  two  were  babies— a  very  large 
number  for  the  size  of  the  ship ;  but  all  were  kept  in 
excellent  health  and  order  by  Bishop  Selwyn's  arrange- 
ments for  cleanliness,  &c.  Mr.  Patteson  thus  describes 
the  style  of  life  during  the  voyage  : — 

"  One  gets  so  used  to  this  sort  of  thing  that  I  sleep 


326  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON. 

just  as  well  as  I  used  to  do  in  my  own  room  at  home, 
and  by  6.30  or  7  a.m.  all  vestiges  of  anything  connected 
with  sleeping  arrangements  have  vanished,  and  the 
cabins  look  like  what  they  are — large  and  roomy.  We 
have,  you  know,  no  separate  cabins  filled  with  bunks, 
&:c. — abominations  specially  contrived  to  conceal  dirt 
and  prevent  ventilation.  Light  calico  curtains  answer 
all  purposes  of  dividing  off  a  cabin  into  compartments ; 
but  we  agree  to  live  together,  and  no  one  has  found  it 
unpleasant  as  yet.  We  turn  a  part  of  our  cabin  into  a 
yura/xe'o  at  night  for  the  three  women  and  two  babies 
by  means  of  a  canvas  screen.  Bishop  looks  after  them, 
washes  the  babies,  tends  the  women  when  sick,  &c., 
while  I,  by  virtue  of  being  a  bachelor,  shirk  all  the 
trouble.  One  of  these  women  is  now  coming  for  the 
second  time  to  the  college  ;  her  name  is  Carry ;  Margaret 
Cho  is  on  her  second  visit,  and  Hearore  is  the  young 
bride  of  Kapua,  now  coming  for  his  third  time,  and 
baptized  last  year." 

During  the  summers  of  1857-8  and  1858-9,  the 
Loyalty  Islanders  mustered  in  great  numbers  at  St 
John's  College.  Mr.  Patteson  worked  very  hard  these 
years  at  translations,  and  there  was  an  immense 
enthusiasm  about  printing ;  the  Lifuites  and  Nengonese 
striving  each  to  get  the  most  in  their  own  language. 

For  the  sake  of  the  pupils  from  tropical  islands,  the 
college  was  in  1859  removed  to  St.  Andrews,  Kohi- 
marama,  a  sheltered  bay  opposite  the  entrance  to  the 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  327 

harbour  at  Auckland,  and  Mr,  Patteson  devoted  himself 
with  fresh  energy  to  their  training  and  welfare.  A  settle- 
ment had  likewise  been  made  in  the  Banks  group,  on 
Mota,  or  Sugar-loaf  Island,  which  lies  opposite  to  Port 
Patteson — named,  as  it  will  be  remembered,  by  Bishop 
Selwyn  after  Sir  John  Patteson — and  the  "first  home  in 
Melanesia "  built  here,  "  at  least  a  hundred  natives 
coming  to  help  in  the  building,  and  pulling  down 
materials  from  their  own  houses  to  make  the  roof." 

Probably  the  considerations  that  more  than  any  other 
determined  this  settlement  were  the  comparative  health- 
fulness  and  fruitfulness  of  the  island — the  bread-fruit 
growing  profusely — combined  with  the  fact  that,  whilst 
the  Solomon  Islanders  were  found  to  be  the  quickest 
and  most  brilliant,  they  were  far  less  steady  and  trust- 
worthy and  attachable  than  were  the  Banks  Islanders. 
But  the  three  months'  residence  on  Mota  had  its  own 
disadvantages,  for,  during  that  long  period,  Mr.  Patteson 
was  entirely  out  of  the  reach  of  letters. 

The  days  were  laid  out  thus  : — Morning  school  in  the 
village,  first  with  the  regular  scholars,  then  with  any  one 
who  liked  to  come  in ;  and  then,  when  the  weather 
permitted,  a  visit  to  some  village,  sometimes  walking  all 
round,  a  circuit  of  ten  miles,  but  generally  each  of  the 
two  taking  a  separate  village,  talking  to  the  people, 
teaching  them  from  cards  and  encouraging  interroga- 
tories. Mr.  Patteson  always  had  such  an  attraction  for 
them  that  they  would  throng  round  him  wherever  he  went. 


328  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON. 

He  tells  us  :— '*  We  have  seven  Solomon  Islanders — 
five  from  a  village  at  the  north-west  of  San  Cristoval, 
and  two  from  the  south-east  point  of  Guadalcanar  or 
Gera,  a  magnificent  island  about  twenty-five  or  twenty 
miles  to  the  north-west  of  San  Cristoval  \i.e.  Bauro]. 
From  frequent  intercourse  they  are  almost  bilingual,  a 
great  'lounge'  for  me,  as  one  language  does  for  both; 
the  structure  of  the  two  island  tongues  is  the  same,  but 
scarcely  any  words  much  alike."  From  Nengond  there 
were  four  men  and  two  women. 

Here  he  found  much  of  the  rest  and  quiet  of  mind  for 
which  he  longed. 

In  1859  he  had  written: — "With  the  languages  of 
four  groups  we  are  now  fairly  acquainted,  besides  some 
of  the  distinguishing  dialects,  which  differ  very  much 
from  one  another ;  nevertheless,  I  think  that  by  and  by 
we  shall  connect  them  all,  if  we  live  ;  but  as  some  dialects 
may  have  dropped  out  altogether,  we  may  want  a  few 
links  in  the  chain  to  demonstrate  the  connection  fully  to 
people  at  a  distance." 

Every  day,  indeed,  afforded  illustration  of  his  remark- 
able aptitude  in  following  up  difficulties  in  language  ; 
and  had  he  been  spared,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he 
would  have  made  substantial  contributions  to  philology. 
As  it  is,  he  has  done  more  than  any  other  to  compare 
and  co-ordinate  the  various  tongues  and  dialects  of  the 
South  Pacific. 

But  amid  all  this  his  interest  in   home  and  his  old 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  329 

friends  was,  if  possible,  intensified  by  absence  and 
distance.  How  he  loves  to  snatch  a  half-hour  to  think 
of  them  and  to  write  to  them  !  Scarcely  a  chance  was 
missed  by  him  for  sending  a  despatch  home,  and  other 
friends  were  often  pleasantly  surprised  to  find  they  were 
remembered,  by  a  note  which  was  utterly  unexpected. 
Near  the  close  of  his  life — a  time  of  peculiar  perplexity — 
he  wrote  to  Principal  Shairp,  thanking  him  for  the 
teaching  embodied  in  his  "  Religion  and  Culture,"  &c. 
His  relations  to  his  aged  father  were  quite  unique.  He 
was  the  eldest  son,  but  no  consideration  that  was  in  the 
remotest  alien  to  the  work  in  which  he  was  engaged  was 
allowed  to  intrude  for  a  moment.  The  mutual  renuncia- 
tions of  father  and  son,  for  the  sake  of  Melanesia,  from 
first  to  last  are  indeed  very  beautiful  to  read  of.  How 
the  ties  of  kindred  and  affection  seemed  to  grow  closer 
and  closer  the  more  that  Mn  Patteson  became  engrossed 
in  his  work,  affording  him  '  sweet  relief  in  brief  moments 
of  leisure  or  weariness  !  and  how,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
aged  Judge  became,  if  possible,  more  reconciled  to  his 
son's  absence  the  more  that  nature  would  have  urged 
the  necessity  of  his  having  Coley  beside  him,  to  support 
him  in  the  midst  of  growing  infirmities  !  Thus  the  son 
writes  in  July  1859  : — 

"Of  course  it  is  useless  to  speculate  on  the  future, 
but  I  see  nothing  at  all  to  make  it  likely  that  I  shall 
ever  revisit  England.  I  can't  very  well  conceive  any 
such  state  of  things  as  would  make  it  a  duty  to  giatify 


330  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESOJV. 

my  constant  inclination.  And,  my  dear  father,  I  don't 
scruple  to  say  (for  you  will  understand  me)  that  I  am 
happier  here  than  I  should  be  in  England,  where,  even 
though  I  were  absent  only  a  few  months,  I  should  bear 
about  with  me  the  constant  weight  of  knowing  that 
Melanesia  was  not  provided  for.  And,  strange  as  it 
may  seem,  this  has  quite  ceased  to  be  a  trial  to  me. 
The  effort  of  subduing  the  longing  desire  to  see  you  is 
no  longer  a  great  one  ;  I  feel  I  am  cheerful,  and  bright, 
and  light-hearted,  and  that  I  have  really  everything  to 
make  a  man  thankful  and  content.  And  if  you  could 
see  the  thank 'ul  look  of  the  bishop,  when  he  is  again 
assured  that  there  is  no  item  of  regret  or  desire  to  call 
me  home  on  your  part,  you  would  feel,  I  know,  that 
colonial  work  does  require  an  unconditional,  unreserved 
surrender  of  a  man  to  whatever  he  may  find  to  do." 

And  this  was  the  tone  in  which,  amid  faiHng  faculties, 
the  old  man  was  wont  to  write  concerning  his  son ;  he 
is  addressing  Bishop  Selwyn  : — 

"You  write  most  kindly  touching  him,  dear  fellow, 
and  truly  I  am  to  be  envied,  qui  natum  haberem  tali 
ingenio  J>rceditum.  Not  for  a  moment  have  I  repented  of 
giving  my  sanction  to  his  going  out  to  New  Zealand  ; 
and  I  fully  believe  that  God  will  prosper  his  work.  I 
did  not  contemplate  his  becoming  a  bishop,  nor  is  that 
the  circumstance  which  gives  me  the  great  satisfaction  I 
feel.  It  is  his  devotion  to  so  good  a  work,  and  that  he 
should  have  been  found  adequate  to  its  performance; 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  331 

whether  as  bishop  or  as  priest  is  not  of  itself  of  so  much 
importance." 

The  reference  to  the  bishopric  is  explained  by  the 
fact  that  gradually,  during  the  last  two  years,  Patteson 
had  been  more  and  more  working  independently,  open- 
ing up  new  paths,  and  attesting  not  only  a  power  of 
marking  out  available  Unes  of  enterprise,  but  giving 
ample  proof  of  the  desirability  of  having  a  fresh  sphere 
of  labour,  into  which  he  would  feel  more  free  to  carry 
his  remarkable  organising  gift.  Not  that  he  himself  had 
ever  felt  in  any  way  hampered  by  his  association  with 
Bishop  Selwyn  ;  wholly  the  reverse.  He  was  rather 
inclined  to  regard  himself  as  disqualified  to  assume  a 
position  of  authority,  as  the  following  quotation  from  a 
letter  referring  to  the  very  first  hint  of  his  appointment 
to  a  Melanesian  bishopric  will  show  : — 

"Seriously,  I  am  not  at  all  fitted  to  do  anything  but 
work  under  a  good  man.  Of  course,  should  I  survive 
the  bishop,  and  no  other  man  come  out,  why,  it  is  better 
that  the  ensign  should  assume  the  command  than  to 
give  up  the  struggle  altogether.  But  this,  of  course,  is 
pure  speculation.  The  bishop  is  hearty,  and  I  pray 
God  may  be  Bishop  of  Melanesia  for  twenty  years  to 
come,  and  by  that  time  there  will  be  many  more  com- 
petent men  than  I  ever  shall  be  to  succeed  him,  to  say 
nothing  of  possible  casualties,  climate,  &c." 

But  the  counsel  of  others  prevailed  in  this  matter. 
He  was  consecrated  bishop  on  the  24th  February  1S61, 


332  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON. 

and  on  the  aSih  was  installed  at  Kohimarama.  No 
sooner  was  the  installation  ceremony  over  than  he  wrote 
thus  to  his  father  : — 

"  How  can  I  thank  you  for  giving  me  up  to  this  work, 
and  for  all  the  wise  and  loving  words  with  which  you 
constantly  cheer  and  encourage  me?  Your  blessing 
comes  now  to  cheer  and  strengthen  me,  as  work  and 
responsibilities  are  fast  accumulating  upon  me.  I  thank 
God  that  He  enables  us  at  the  two  ends  of  the  world 
to  see  this  matter  in  the  same  way,  so  that  no  conflict 
of  duties  arises  in  my  mind.  ...  I  almost  fear  to  write 
that  I  am  a  bishop  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  May  God 
strengthen  me  for  the  duties  of  the  office,  to  which  I 
trust  He  has  indeed  called  me  !  .  .  .  What  some  of  you 
say  about  self-possession  on  one's  going  about  among 
the  poor  people  being  marvellous,  is  just  what  of  course 
appears  to  me  commonplace.  Of  course  it  is  wTong  to 
risk  one's  life,  but  to  carry  one's  life  in  one's  hand  is 
what  other  soldiers  besides  those  of  the  Cross  do  habitu- 
ally ;  and  no  one,  as  I  think,  would  willingly  hurt  a  hair 
of  my  head  in  Melanesia,  or  that  part  of  it  where  I  am 
known. 

"How  I  think  of  those  islands!  How  I  see  those 
bright  coral  and  sandy  beaches,  strips  of  burning  sun- 
shine fringing  the  masses  of  forest  rising  into  ridges  of 
hills,  covered  with  a  dense  mat  of  vegetation  !  Hun- 
dreds of  people  are  crowding  upon  them,  naked,  armed, 
with  wild  uncouth  cries  and  gestures ;  I  cannot  talk  to 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TIES  ON.  333 

them  but  by  signs.  But  they  are  my  children  now! 
I^Iay  God  enable  me  to  do  my  duty  to  them  ! " 

His  next  seven  months'  trip  among  the  islands  was 
delayed  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  finding  a  craft  to  take 
the  place  of  the  "  Southern  Cross,"  which  during  the 
former  voyage  had  run  on  a  shoal  called  the  Hen  and 
Chickens,  at  the  head  of  Ngunguru  Bay,  and  had  speedily 
broken  up,  after  full  five  years'  good  service.  There 
was  nothing  to  approach,  not  to  speak  of  equalling,  her. 
"Vessels  built  for  freight,"  says  the  bishop,  "are  to  the 
*  Southern  Cross '  as  a  cart-horse  to  a  thoroughbred  steed, 
and  we  must  have  some  vessel  which  can  do  the  work 
quickly  among  the  multitude  of  the  isles,  and  many 
other  reasons  there  are  which  we  seamen  only  perhaps 
can  judge  fully,  which  make  it  quite  essential  to  the 
carrying  on  of  this  peculiar  mission  that  we  should  have 
a  vessel  of  a  pecuUar  kind."  The  best  that  could  be 
done  meanwhile,  however,  was  to  charter  the  "  Dunedin" 
— a  vessel  not  in  the  best  repair,  "  the  pumps  going  every 
two  hours,"  to  carry  them  to  Mota,  after  having  under- 
gone some  preliminary  "caulking." 

At  Erromango  the  bishop  heard  of  the  mournful 
deaths  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gordon,  the  Scotch  missionaries, 
who  had  become  victims  to  the  wild  superstitions  of  the 
people.  But  Bishop  Patteson  had  full  faith  in  his  own 
safety.  Indeed,  very  shortly  after  this,  as  we  have  been 
informed  by  one  who  knows  well,  he  landed  on  Erro- 
mango, and  made  his  way  to  the  graves  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 


334  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON. 

Gordon,  and  read  over  them  the  funeral  service  as  a 
mark  of  his  respect  for  these  his  brave  and  martyred 
fellow-workers  in  the  South  Pacific. 

Reaching  Mota,  and  finding  the  home  that  had  been 
erected  on  a  former  visit  all  secure,  he  soon  set  out  in 
an  open  boat  to  pay  a  round  of  visits  to  the  other  islands 
of  the   Banks  group,  returning  to  their  homes  such  of 
the  Banks  Islanders  as  he  had  had  with  him.     *•  As  we 
pulled  away  from  Aruas,"  he  tells  us,  "  one  elderly  man 
drew  his  bow,  and  the  women  and  children  ran  off  into 
the  bush,  here,  as  everywhere  almost  in  these  islands, 
growing  quite  thickly  some  twenty  yards  above  water- 
mark.    The  man  did  not  let  fly  his  arrow.     I  cannot 
tell  why  this  small  demonstration  took  place."     Probably 
the  reason  that  the  man  desisted  as  he  did  was  simply 
that  the  bishop,  when  an  arrow  was  pointed  at  him,  was 
wont  to  look  the  archer  full  in  the  face  with  his  bright 
smile,  and  the  look  of  cheery  confidence  and  good-will 
made  the  weapon  drop.    When  another  time,  at  Ambrym, 
an  incident  of  the  same  sort  took  place— a  man  raising 
his  bow  and  drawing  it,  then  unbending  it,  and  finally 
bending  it  again,  as  others  were  apparently  dissuading 
him   from   letting   fly   the   arrow  —  the   bishop   simply 
regards   this   as  a  result  of  not   landing   oftener,  and 
writes :  "  We  must  try  and  make  more  frequent  land- 
ings." 

H.M.S.  "Cordelia,"  under  Captain  Hume,  which  took 
him  off  Mota  on  this  occasion,  and  carried  him  to  the 


fOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  335 

Solomon  Islands,  for  his  next  visitation  there,  brought 
him  word  of  the  serious  illness  of  his  father ;  so  that  it 
was  hardly  a  shock  to  him  when  on  reaching  Norfolk 
Island,  on  his  return,  he  learned  the  first  news  of  the 
Judge's  death  from  the  Sydney  papers.  He  took  it 
as  though  it  had  been  long  prepared  for;  and  the 
only  evidence  of  change  towards  those  about  him  was, 
if  possible,  a  greater  sweetness  in  his  manner  and 
ways  towards  them. 

It  was  during  this  voyage  that  Bishop  Patteson  so 
engaged  the  interest  of  Lieutenant  Capel  Tilly,  R.N., 
that  that  officer  undertook  to  return  to  England  with 
the  "  Cordelia "  to  watch  over  the  building  of  the  new 
"  Southern  Cross,"  and  return  again  with  her  to  the  South 
Pacific,  to  act  as  her  commanding  officer. 

On  his  return  to  Kohimarama  in  the  end  of  the  year 
the  old  life  was  resumed,  and  Lady  Martin  thus  sketches 
the  settlement  at  the  time : — 

"  The  new  settlement  was  then  thought  to  be  healthy, 
and  he  and  his  boys  alike  rejoiced  in  the  warmth  of  the 
sheltered  bay  after  the  keenness  of  the  air  at  St.  John's 
on  the  higher  ground.  The  place  looked  very  pretty ; 
the  green  fields,  and  hawthorn  hedges,  and  the  sleek 
cattle  reminded  me  of  England.  As  a  strong  contrast, 
there  was  the  white  shelly  beach  and  yellow  sands. 
Here  the  boys  sunned  themselves  in  play-hours,  or  fished 
on  the  rocks,  or  cooked  their  fish  at  driftwood  fires.  On 
calm  days  one  or  two  would  skim  across  the  blue  water 


336  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON. 

in  their  tiny  canoes.  One  great  charm  of  the  place  was 
the  freedom  and  naturalness  of  the  whole  party.  There 
was  no  attempt  to  force  an  overstrained  piety  on  those 
wild  fellows  who  showed  their  sincerity  by  coming  with 
the  bishop.  By  five  in  the  morning  all  were  astir,  and 
jokes  and  laughter,  and  shrill,  unaccountable  cries, 
would  rouse  us  up,  and  go  on  all  day,  save  when  school 
and  chapel  came  to  sober  them.  The  bishop  had  not 
lost  his  Eton  tastes,  and  only  liked  to  see  them  play 
games,  and  the  little,  fat,  merry-faced  lads  were  always 
on  the  look-out  for  a  bit  of  fun  with  him." 

Mr.  Whytehead  has  given  the  following  graphic 
picture  of  the  bishop  and  his  scholars  at  this  period, 
which  may  well  supplement  Lady  Martin's  descrip- 
tion : — 

"On  proceeding  down  to  Kohimarama  to  join  the 
vessel,  I  found  her  moored  off  the  station,  and  prepara- 
tions being  made  for  the  voyage.  Spars  were  being  sent 
aloft,  gear  was  being  rove,  and  sails  bent.  All  day  the 
boats,  manned  by  pupils  in  charge  of  teachers,  were 
bringing  off  stores,  personal  effects,  &c.  It  was  then 
that  I  first  saw  some  of  the  natives  of  the  Western 
Pacific.  Very  intelligent  -  looking,  bright  -  eyed  Uttle 
fellows  were  these  boys,  and  exceedingly  nice  they 
looked  in  their  loose  shirts,  straw  hats,  and  canvas 
trousers.  They  worked  heartily  too,  and  seemed  to 
enjoy  the  bustle  of  preparation,  no  doubt  anticipating 
the  joys  of  once  more  seeing  their  friends  and  homes, 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON".  337 

and  relating  the  wonders  they  had  beheld  in  the  white 
man's  country.  The  first  time  I  saw  Bishop  Patteson  I 
was  struck  with  the  wonderful  power  of  attraction  which 
he  seemed  to  possess.  It  was  not  in  his  face  alone,  but 
in  his  whole  manner  that  this  force  was  to  be  found.  I 
was  walking  on  the  beach  one  evening  after  working 
hours,  a  day  or  two  after  joining,  when  he  came  out  of 
his  rooms,  which  formed  part  of  the  main  building  of  the 
school.  The  boys  were  all  playing  on  the  grass  before 
the  doors,  but  his  appearance  was  the  signal  for  them  all 
to  leave  off  their  various  little  amusements  and  run 
clustering  round  him.  Some  seized  his  hands,  others 
the  skirts  of  his  coat,  and  all  had  a  word  of  happiness 
at  seeing  him.  The  scene  reminded  me  of  nothing  so 
much  as  a  hen  gathering  her  chickens  under  her  wings. 
He  passed  each  arm  round  the  neck  of  one  of  the  taller 
boys,  and  with  the  rest  tripping  along  like  a  body-guard 
on  all  sides  of  him  he  slowly  advanced  towards  the 
beach.  I  stood  smiling  at  the  spectacle.  The  group 
neared  me,  and  the  bishop,  remarking  my  expression, 
said  that  he  supposed  I  had  never  seen  anything  of  the 
kind  before.  I  confessed  that  I  had  not,  but  that  it  was 
very  delightful  to  see  such  intelligent  and  affectionate- 
looking  boys.  He  asked  me  how  I  liked  the  place,  if 
things  were  comfortable  on  board  the  vessel,  and  other 
questions,  showing  that  he  took  a  kind  and  lively  interest 
in  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  every  one  of  his  party. 
It  was   this  kindness  in  little  matters   of  detail  which 

Y 


338  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON. 

always  gained  for  Bishop  Patteson  the  love  of  those  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  I  do  not  believe  there  was  a 
man  belonging  to  the  ship's  company  who  would  have 
hesitated  at  anything  to  serve  the  bishop.  He  was 
thoroughly  respected  and  looked  up  to,  and  yet  at  the 
same  time  he  was  loved  by  those  around  him  in  such  a 
way  as  few  men  ever  have  the  happiness  to  be." 

This  was  the  summer  of  his  year,  during  which  he  en- 
joyed the  peaceful  sunshine  of  society  with  minds,  so 
far,  congenial ;  it  was  different  when  he  was  on  his  voy- 
ages, exposed  to  all  sorts  of  perils.  He  thus  indicates 
one  class  of  these  in  writing  to  Mrs.  Martyn  : — 

"  Those  nights  when  I  lie  down,  in  a  long  hut,  among 
forty  or  fifty  naked  men,  cannibals — the  only  Christian 
on  the  island — that  is  the  time,  Sophy,  to  pour  out  the 
heart  in  prayer  and  supplication,  that  they — those  dark 
wild  heathens  about  me — may  be  turned  from  Satan  to 
God." 

The  year  1862  was  remarkable  for  a  voyage  in  a 
chartered  vessel,  the  "Sea-breeze,"  in  which  various  islands 
of  the  Solomon  and  New  Hebrides  groups  were  visited, 
and  frequent  landings  made  on  the  island  of  Santa  Cruz 
at  points  where  they  had  not  landed  before.  The  natives 
are  very  ingenious — carving  elaborate  arrows,  and  as 
elaborately  poisoning  them ;  but  the  bishop  met  only 
with  kindness  and  attention. 

"  Two  or  three  of  the  men  took  off  little  ornaments 
and  gave  them  to  me ;  one  bright  pretty  boy  especially 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON.  339 

I  remember,  who  took  off  his  shell  necklace  and  put  it 
round  my  neck,  making  me  understand,  partly  by  words, 
but  more  by  signs,  that  he  was  afraid  to  come  now,  but 
would  do  so  if  I  returned,  as  I  said,  in  eight  or  ten 
moons.  Large  baskets  of  almonds  were  given  me,  and 
other  food  also  thrown  into  the  boat.  I  made  a  poor 
return  by  giving  some  fish-hooks  and  a  tomahawk  to  the 
man  whom  I  took  to  be  the  person  of  most  consequence. 
On  shore  the  women  came  freely  up  to  me  among  the 
crowd,  but  they  were  afraid  to  venture  down  to  the 
beach.  Now,  this  is  the  island  about  which  we  have 
long  felt  a  great  difficulty  as  to  the  right  way  of  obtain- 
ing any  communication  with  the  natives.  This  year,  why 
and  how  I  cannot  tell,  the  way  was  opened  beyond  all 
expectation." 

At  Leper's  Island  and  Malanta,  at  Misial  and  at 
Ysabel,  such  pleasant  days  were  likewise  spent ;  and  even 
at  Tikopia,  where  the  people  are  very  powerful  in  person 
and  unmanageable  in  spirit,  a  good  impression  was  made. 
In  November  the  bishop  returned  to  Kohimarama,  and 
immediately  set  about  the  work  there.  He  congratu- 
lates himself  on  the  increased  openings  for  mission  sta- 
tions, and  though  he  felt  the  lack  of  workers,  he  was  full 
of  hope  that  the  Banks  Archipelago  would  soon  supply 
a  working  staff.  One  of  his  great  ideas,  indeed,  was  to 
form  centres  for  independent  native  missionary  effort — 
having  become  more  and  more  convinced  that  the  Mel- 
ancsians  would  be  the  most  efificient  missionaries  to  each 


340  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESOX. 

Other.  Hence  the  concern  with  which  he  now  warned 
those  at  home  about  the  "  right  men  "  for  his  staff,  know- 
ing that  any  false  ideas  imported  from  home  would  have 
a  very  alien  influence  on  the  natives.  Here  is  one 
passage  in  which  we  gather  up  his  oft-repeated  convic- 
tions on  this  head  : — 

"You  know  I  have  long  felt  that  there  is  harm  done 
by  trying  to  make  these  islanders  like  English  people. 
All  that  is  needed  for  decency  and  propriety  in  the 
arrangements  of  houses,  in  dress,  &c.,  we  must  get  them 
to  adopt,  but  they  are  to  be  Melanesian,  not  English, 
Christians.  We  are  so  far  removed  from  them  in  matters 
not  at  all  necessarily  connected  with  Christianity,  that 
unless  we  can  denationalise  ourselves  and  eliminate  all 
that  belongs  to  us  as  English,  and  not  as  Christians,  we 
cannot  be  to  them  what  a  well-instructed  countryman 
may  be.  He  is  nearer  to  them.  They  understand  him. 
He  brings  the  teaching  to  them  in  a  practical  and  in- 
telligible form 

"  I  solve  the  difficulty  in  Melanesian  work  by  saying, 
*  Use  Melanesians.'  I  tell  people  plainly  I  don't  want 
white  men.  ...  I  have  no  intention  of  taking  any  more 
from  England,  Australia,  or  New  Zealand.  I  sum  it 
thus  :  they  cost  about  ten  times  as  much  as  the  Melane- 
sian (literally),  and  but  a  very  small  proportion  do  the 
work  as  well." 

The  carrying  out  of  this  principle  of  equality,  however, 
was  one  so  surrounded  with  difficulties  that  only  a  man 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON:  341 

like  Bishop  Patteson — patient,  trustful,  affectionate,  and 
winning  men  by  his  affection — could  possibly  have 
succeeded  in  it ;  and  it  was  above  all  necessary,  in  view 
of  this,  that  he  should  be  supported  and  assisted  not  only 
by  men  like-minded,  but  men  constitutionally  gifted  with 
patience,  prudence,  and  common  sense,  almost  equal  to 
his  own.  Hence  it  was  that,  in  writing  home,  he  got 
into  a  habit  of  discouraging  the  sending  out  of  helpers  ; 
but  still,  at  the  same  time,  urging  on  his  friends  the  pecu- 
liar qualities  required  in  any  who  should  come. 

In  another  place  he  thus  signalises  other  qualities 
most  necessary  in  the  men  who  should  be  chosen  to 
join  such  a  work  as  his.  And  his  words  may  be  held  to 
have  a  value  for  all  missionaries  at  work  amongst  the 
heathen  : — 

"  Men  are  needed  who  have  what  I  may  call  strong 
religious  common  sense  to  adapt  Christianity  to  the 
wants  of  the  various  nations  that  live  in  Melanesia,  with- 
out compromising  any  truth  of  doctrine  or  principle  of 
conduct ;  men  who  can  see  in  the  midst  of  the  errors 
and  superstitions  of  a  people  whatever  fragment  of  truth 
or  symptom  of  a  yearning  after  something  better  may 
exist  among  them,  and  make  that  the  poiJit  d'appui  upon 
which  they  may  build  up  the  structure  of  Christian 
teaching.  Men,  moreover,  of  industry,  they  must  be, 
for  it  is  useless  to  talk  of  *  picking  up  languages.'  Of 
course,  in  a  few  days  a  man  may  learn  to  talk  super- 
ficially and  inaccurately  on  a  few  subjects  ;  but  to  teach 


3; 2  JOHN-  COLERIDGE  PATTESON, 

Christianity  a  man  must  know  the  language  well,  and 
this  is  learnt  only  by  hard  work." 

He  was  harassed  with  the  idea  that  his  perpetual 
voyaging  from  place  to  place  was  a  great  cause  of  loss 
of  influence  with  his  boys  ;  and  on  this  point  he  thus 
touchingly  expresses  himself: — 

"  The  main  difficulty  remains  of  retaining  our  hold 
upon  boys.  Oh,  that  I  could  live  permanently  in  twenty 
islands  at  once  !  But  I  can't  do  so  on  even  one ;  and 
all  the  letter-writing  and  accounts,  and  worst  of  all, 
the  necessity  for  being  trustee  for  matters  not  a  bit  con- 
nected with  Melanesia,  because  there  is  no  one  else, 
interferes  sadly  with  my  time.  I  think  I  could  work 
away  with  the  languages,  &c.,  and  really  do  something 
with  these  fellows,  but  I  never  get  a  chance.  I  never 
have  two  days  together  which  I  can  spend  exclu- 
sively at  Melanesian  work.  And  I  ought  to  have 
nothing  whatever  to  distract  me.  Twenty  languages 
calling  for  arrangement  and  comparison  cause  con- 
fusion enough." 

But  in  spite  of  all  this,  he  is  able  to  record  as  the 
result  of  the  work  of  1862  : — 

"  We  have  never  had  so  satisfactory  a  set  of  scholars. 
Out  of  twenty-eight  (exclusive  of  three  native  teachers), 
only  one,  who  has  been  an  invalid  almost  all  the 
summer,  is  unable  to  read  and  write.  The  first  class 
(which  indeed  should,  by  rights,  be  subdivided)  consists 
of  nine.     All   may   be   regarded   as    catechumens.      I 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESOiV.  343 

should  not  hesitate  to  baptize  them  at  once,  if  attacked 
with  sudden  illness,  for  example." 

Another  confession  of  a  somewhat  singular  kind  we 
also  came  on  at  this  time,  of  which  some  record  may 
here  be  made,  for  it  is  exceedingly  characteristic  of  the 
bishop. 

'*  I  am  less  shy  than  I  was,  and  with  real  gentlemen 
feel  no  difficulty  in  discussing  points  on  which  we  differ. 
It  is  the  vulgar,  uneducated  fellow  that  beats  me.  The 
Melanesians,  laugh  as  you  may  at  it,  are  naturally 
gentlemanly  and  courteous  and  well-bred.  I  never  saw 
a  'gent'  in  Melanesia,  though  not  a  few  downright 
savages.     I  vastly  prefer  the  savages." 

He  found  so  many  demands  made  on  his  time  by 
indifferent  matters  while  in  New  Zealand,  that  already 
he  felt,  as  a  strong  inducement  to  transfer  the  school 
from  New  Zealand  within  the  tropics,  the  hope  of 
escaping  from  some  of  the  unnecessary  worry  and  con- 
sultation. What  he  wrote  later,  in  1865,  would  so  far 
express  the  feeling  that  very  often  visited  him  now. 

"  Sometimes  I  do  feel  tempted  to  long  for  Curtis 
Island,  merely  to  get  away  from  New  Zealand.  I  feel 
as  if  I  should  never  do  anything  here.  Everything  is 
in  arrears.  I  turn  out  of  a  morning,  and  really  don't 
know  what  to  take  at  first.  Then  just  as  I  am  in  the 
middle  of  a  letter,  down  comes  some  donkey  to  take 
up  a  quarter  of  an  hour  (lucky  if  not  an  hour)  with 
idle   nonsense ;  then  in    the   afternoon    an   invasion   of 


344  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON. 

visitors,  which  is  worst  of  all.     That  fatal  invention  of 
'  calling  ! '  " 

Of  his  manner  of  life  at  Kohimarama  at  this  time  he 
thus  tells  his  sisters,  with  a  little  of  the  quiet  humour  that 
he  was  wont  to  throw  across  dull  and  ordinary  routine — 

"  Up  at  five,  when  I  go  round  and  pull  the  blankets, 
not  without  many  a  joke,  off  the  sleeping  boys  ;  many  of 
the  party  are  already  up  and  washing.  Then  just  before 
prayers  I  go  to  the  kitchen  and  see  that  all  is  ready  for 
breakfast.  Prayers  at  5.45  in  English,  Mota,  Bauro,  &c., 
beginning  with  a  Mota  hymn,  and  ending  with  the 
Lord's  Prayer  in  English.  Breakfast  immediately  after  : 
at  our  table,  Mr.  Pritt,  Mr.  Kerr,  and  young  Atkin,  who 
has  just  joined  us.  At  the  teachers'  table,  five  Norfolk 
Islanders,  Edward  (a  Maori),  five  girls,  and  two  of  their 
husbands,  and  the  three  girls  being  placed  at  the  table 
because  they  are  girls ;  Melanesians  at  the  other  three 
tables  indiscriminately." 

The  new  "  Southern  Cross,"  procured  mainly  by  the 
efforts  of  Mr.  Keble  and  Dr.  Moberly,  arrived  on  the 
28th  of  February  1863,  and  was  found  every  way  well 
suited  for  her  purpose.  He  thus  announced  her  arrival 
to  Miss  Yonge  : — 

"  The  '  Southern  Cross '  arrived  safely  this  morning, 
thanks  to  God  !  What  it  is  to  us  even  you  can  hardly 
tell ;  I  know  not  how  to  pour  out  my  thankfulness.  She 
seems  admirably  adapted  for  the  work.  Mr.  Tilly's 
report  of  her  performance  is  most  satisfactory :  safe,  fast, 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTE50N.  345 

steers  well,  and  very  manageable.  Internal  arrange- 
ments very  good ;  after-cabin  too  luxurious  3  but  then 
that  may  be  wanted  for  sick  folk ;  and  as  it  is  luxu- 
rious, why  I  shall  get  a  soft  bed,  and  take  to  it  very 
kindly." 

It  must  have  been  a  proud  moment  to  the  bishop 
when  he  set  out  in  his  first  trial  voyage  in  the  new  ship, 
bearing  his  own  flag — the  mitre  and  Southern  Cross  con- 
stellation in  gold  on  a  blue  field — an  ensign  the  natives 
soon  began  to  know  and  welcome  and  look  for. 

But  the  joy  that  was  felt  over  this  event  was  soon 
dashed  by  a  distressing  visitation  which  carried  off 
several  of  the  native  lads.  Miss  Yonge  thus  indicates 
its  nature  : — 

"Whether  it  was  from  the  large  numbers,  or  the 
effect  of  the  colder  climate,  or  from  what  cause  could 
not  be  told,  but  a  frightful  attack  of  dysentery  fell  upon 
the  Melanesians,  and  for  several  weeks  suffering  prevailed 
among  them.  How  Bishop  Patteson  tended  them  during 
this  time  can  be  better  guessed  than  described.  Arch- 
deacon Lloyd,  who  came  to  assist  in  the  cares  of  the 
small  party  of  clergy,  can  find  no  words  to  express  the 
devotion  with  which  the  bishop  nursed  them,  comforting 
and  supporting  them,  never  shrinking  from  the  most 
repulsive  offices,  even  bearing  out  the  dead  silently  at 
night,  lest  the  others  should  see  and  be  alarmed.  Still 
no  mail,  except  during  the  voyages,  had  ever  left  New 
Zealand  without  a  despatch  for  home  ;  and  time  was 


346  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON. 

snatched  in  the  midst  of  all  this  distress  for  greetings  in 
the  same  beautiful,  minute,  clear  hand  as  usual." 

In  a  letter  home,  at  this  trying  time,  he  says  :  "  Since 
this  day  fortnight  I  have  scarce  slept  night  or  day,  but 
by  snatching  an  hour  here  and  there  ;  others  are  working 
quite  as  hard,  and  all  the  good  points  of  our  Melanesiaii 
staff  are  brought  out,  as  you  may  suppose." 

Six  of  the  children  were  taken  thus — the  last  one 
Soaiman,  "a  dear  lad,  one  of  the  Banks  Islanders, 
about  ten  or  twelve  years  old."  By  him,  at  the  last, 
Bishop  Patteson  knelt,  closing  the  eyes  in  death.  "  I 
can  see  his  mother's  face  now,"  he  writes.  "  What  will 
she  say  to  me,  she  who  knows  not  the  Christian's  life  in 
death  ?  .  .  .  I  washed  him,  and  laid  him  out  as  usual 
in  a  linen  sheet.  How  white  it  looked  !  So  much  more 
simple  and  touching  than  the  coffin— the  form  just  dis- 
cernible as  it  lay  where  five  had  lain  before." 

It  can  easily  be  imagined  how  severe  would  be  the 
trial  of  visiting  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  islanders 
on  the  next  voyage ;  but  that  was  got  over  with  less  pain 
than  might  have  been  expected;  for  in  the  hearts  of 
most  of  them  the  seed  of  Christian  faith  had  struck 
root  and  grown — one  father  at  Mota  saying  to  him,  "  It 
is  all  well,  bishop  \  he  died  well.  I  know  you  did  all 
you  could  ;  it  is  all  well."  And  fresh  scholars  came 
from  these  islands  in  plenty. 

"At  Aruas,  the  small  island  close  to  Valua,  from 
which  dear   Sosaman  came,  it  was  just  the  same,"  he 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  347 

tells  US ;  "  rather  different  at  the  west  side  of  Vanua  Lava, 
where  they  did  not  behave  so  well,  and  where  (as  I 
heard  afterwards)  there  had  been  some  talk  of  shooting 
me;  but  nothing  occurred  while  I  was  on  shore  with 
them  to  alarm  me." 

Their  landings,  never  wholly  without  risk,  now  became 
at  some  points  so  dangerous  that  many  men  would 
have  altogether  desisted  from  going  ashore. 

The  death  of  Sosaman  and  the  other  scholars  practi- 
cally re-opened  the  question  whether  New  Zealand  would 
be  a  safe  residence  for  the  great  body  of  Melanesian 
youth,  and  it  was  decided  in  the  negative.  A  visit  to 
Melbourne,  Sydney,  and  other  places,  enabled  the  bishop 
to  make  appeal  for  aid  towards  establishing  another 
station,  which  did  not  pass  without  response ;  and  plans 
were  formed  to  transfer  the  school  to  a  healthy  and 
well-watered  part  of  Curtis  Island,  east  of  Queensland. 
This  was  mainly  fixed  on  with  the  idea  of  native  Aus- 
tralians also  being  taken  to  the  mission  station.  But 
though  Curtis  Island  was  visited,  it  was  not  found  pos- 
sible to  leave  a  party  there  then  to  try  the  experiment  j 
and  the  '*  Southern  Cross  "  sailed  to  Santa  Cruz,  to  meet 
that  fatal  attack  in  Graciosa  Bay,  which  in  its  results 
stands  out  a  mournful  episode  in  the  life  of  Bishop 
Patteson.  The  party  were  shot  at,  and  three  of  them 
severely  wounded  with  arrows. 

Mr.  Whytehead  thus  describes  the  appearance  of  the 
boat  when  it  reached  the  vessel : — 


348  /C/AV  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON. 

"Stretched  beneath  the  thwarts,  his  face  looking 
deathly  white,  and  with  the  broken  end  of  a  large  arrow 
protruding  from  his  bare  breast,  lay  poor  Pearce,  groan- 
ing heavily.  On  one  thwart  sat  Edwin  Nobbs  with 
another  broken  arrow  sticking  in  his  cheek;  whilst 
Fisher  Young  tried  to  smile,  in  spite  of  the  agony  of  an 
arrow  which  had  transfixed  his  wrist.  Atkin  and  Chris- 
tian, the  uninjured  ones  of  the  crew,  were  working  the 
boat,  whilst  Bishop  Patteson,  a  look  of  inexpressible 
grief  upon  his  beautiful  features,  was  directing  the  pro- 
ceedings." 

Tetanus  or  lock-jaw  supervened,  and  Fisher  Young 
and  Edwin  Nobbs  died  in  great  agony ;  whilst  Pearce, 
whose  wound  had  been  the  worst,  completely  recovered. 
Young  and  Nobbs  were  Norfolk  Islanders,  "two  of  the 
most  beautiful  characters,"  says  Mr.  Whytehead,  "  I  ever 
met ;  and  were  to  the  bishop  as  the  apple  of  his  eye." 
For  the  former,  indeed,  the  bishop  had  all  the  affection 
of  a  father;  he  loved  all  the  scholars,  but  he  loved 
Fisher  Young  in  quite  a  peculiar  way,  as  he  thus  in- 
dicates in  a  touching  note  to  his  sister  : — 

"  But,  my  dear  Fan,  Fisher  most  of  all  supplied  to  me 
the  absence  of  earthly  relations  and  friends.  He  was 
my  boy ;  I  loved  him  as,  I  think,  I  never  loved  any  one 
else.  I  don't  mean  more  than  you  all,  but  in  a  different 
way ;  not  as  one  loves  another  of  equal  age,  but  as,  a 
parent  loves  a  child  I  can  hardly  think  of  my  little 
room  at  Kohimarama  without  him.     I  long  for  the  sight 


TOIIN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  349 

of  his  dear  face,  the  sound  of  his  voice.  It  was  my 
delight  to  teach  him." 

And  shortly  afterwards  he  wrote  in  this  strain  : — 

"Oh,  how  I  think  with  such  ever-increasing  love  of 
dear  Fisher  and  Edwin  !  How  I  praised  God  for  them 
on  All  Saints'  day !  But  I  don't  expect  to  recover 
spring  and  elasticity  yet  awhile.  I  don't  think  I  ever 
shall  feel  so  young  again." 

It  was  a  relief  to  the  bishop  on  this  occasion  to  reach 
home,  to  find  some  rest  and  recruitment  ;  for  the  un- 
usual strain  and  incessant  tax  on  his  energies  had  tried 
him  greatly.  And  well  pleased  he  must  have  been  to 
find  that  his  helpers  were  always  so  assiduous  in  his 
absences.  During  the  year  1865  a  great  advance  was 
made  in  the  industrial  department  of  the  mission  work. 
About  seventeen  acres  of  land  were  taken  in  hand  and 
worked  by  Mr.  Pritt,  with  the  Melanesian  lads.  "We 
have  our  own  dairy  of  thirteen  cows,"  he  says,  "and, 
besides  supplying  the  whole  mission  party,  numbering  in 
all  seventy-seven  persons,  with  abundance  of  milk,  we 
sell  considerable  quantities  of  butter.  We  grow,  of 
course,  our  own  potatoes  and  vegetables  and  maize,  &c., 
for  our  cows.  The  farm  and  dairy  work  affords  another 
opportunity  for  teaching  our  young  people  to  acquire 
habits  of  industry." 

In  the  end  of  1865  an  official  offer  of  a  station  on 
Norfolk  Island  was  made ;  and  though  Curtis  Island  had 
not  ceased  to  be  thought  of,  the  offer  was  all  the  more 


3SO  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON. 

readily  embraced  in  that  the  bishop's  mind  had  for  some 
time  been  made  up  on  the  expediency  of  a  change  to  a 
place  which  was  likely  to  suit  both  English  and  tropical 
constitutions  alike,  and  he  hoped  to  make  the  experiment 
the  ensuing  winter  with  Mr.  Palmer  and  a  small  body  of 
scholars ;  Norfolk  Island  being  not  only  six  hundred 
miles  nearer  to  the  Melanesian  Islands  than  Auckland, 
but  these  the  six  hundred  cold  and  boisterous  miles  that 
must  be  weathered  at  the  end  of  each  return  voyage. 

This  change  to  Norfolk  Island  was  charged  with  great 
issues  for  the  mission ;  and  on  going  back  there  the 
bishop  must  have  been  delighted  to  see  the  progress  that 
had  been  made  in  the  way  of  clearing  and  preparing  by 
the  party  who  had  been  left  under  Mr.  Palmer  :  and,  the 
time  being  come,  he  proceeded  on  to  the  Mota  settle- 
ment, full  of  hope.  Here  he  was  absorbed  in  the 
scheming  out  of  a  Christian  village — a  long-cherished 
idea  of  his  own,  which  had  been  happily  met  by  a 
suggestion  of  George  Sarawia,  one  of  the  earliest  and 
best  of  the  Banks  pupils  who  had  been  ordained ;  and 
this  was  varied  by  quiet  work  of  several  kinds.  "  How 
he  read,  wrote,  or  did  anything,  is  the  marvel,  with  the 
hut  constantly  crowded  by  men  who  had  nothing  to  do 
but  gather  round,  in  suffocating  numbers,  to  stare  at  his 
pen  travelling  over  the  paper.  ...  It  is  useless,"  he 
says,  "to  talk  about  it,  and  one  must  humour  them,  or 
they  will  think  I  am  vexed  with  them.  The  scholars, 
neatly  clothed,  with  orderly  and  industrious  habits,  were 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON.  35: 

no  small  contrast,  but  I  miss  as  yet  the  link  between 
them  and  the  resident  heathen  people." 

He  has,  however,  one  cause  for  gladness  that  might 
well  surprise  students  and  dignitaries  at  home.  He  can 
congratulate  himself  that  now  he  does  not  need  to  take 
any  trouble  about  cooking,  having  got  from  England  a 
supply  of  preserved  meats,  which  leaves  him  freer  for  the 
pleasant  occupation,  for  an  hour  or  so  each  day,  in 
clearing  away  the  bush,  that  in  one  year  grows  up 
surprisingly  here.  But  he  adds  quaintly,  "  I  can  make 
myself  all  sorts  of  good  things,  if  I  choose  to  take  the 
trouble,  and  some  days  I  do  so.  I  bake  a  liitle  bread 
now  and  then,  and  flatter  myself  it  is  uncommonly 
good."  A  beautiful  property,  between  Veverao  and 
Maligo,  of  some  ten  acres,  was  chosen  for  the  site  of  the 
village;  and  the  intricate  affair  of  settling  with  some 
sixteen  different  owners  having  been  got  over,  the 
business  of  clearing  and  building  was  set  about  ener- 
getically. Then,  having  seen  a  start  made,  with  George 
Sarawia  established  as  head  of  the  village,  he  departs  on 
his  voyage  among  the  islands;  and  now  we  first  get 
definitive  hints  of  the  evils  being  done  by  that  semi- 
legalised  slave-trade  between  the  South-Sea  Islands  and 
New  Caledonia  and  the  white  settlers  in  Fiji.  The 
bishop  writes  : — 

"  I  have  made  a  little  move  in  the  matter.  I  wrote  to 
a  Wesleyan  missionary  in  Fiji  (Ovalau)  who  sent  us 
some   books.     I    am   told    ihat    Government  sanctions 


352  JOH\^  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON. 

natives  being  brought  upon  agreement  to  work  for  pay, 
&c.,  and  passage  home  in  two  years.  We  know  the 
impossibility  of  making  contracts  with  New  Hebrides  or 
Solomon  natives.  It  is  a  mere  sham,  an  evasion  of  some 
law — passed,  I  dare  say,  without  any  dishonourable 
intention — to  procure  colonial  labour.  If  necessary,  I 
will  go  to  Fiji  or  anywhere  to  procure  information.  But 
I  saw  a  letter  in  a  Sydney  paper  which  spoke  strongly  and 
properly  of  the  necessity  of  the  most  stringent  rules  to  pre- 
vent the  white  settlers  from  injuring  the  coloured  men." 
Though  Bishop  Patteson  had  followed  his  own 
judgment  on  two  decided  points  —  the  removal  to 
Norfolk  Island,  and  the  use  of  the  Mota  language 
instead  of  English,  and  did  not  repent  having  done  so 
— yet  still  the  being  left  with  none  to  whom  to  look  up 
to  as  an  authority  was  a  heavy  trial  and  strain  on  mind 
and  body,  and  brought  on  another  stage  in  that  pre- 
mature age  that  the  climate  and  constant  toil  were 
bringing  upon  him  when  most  men  are  still  in  the 
fulness  of  their  strength ;  and  this  notwithstanding  that 
the  party  were  in  excellent  health,  and  the  land  found 
to  be  so  productive  that  it  was  hoped  they  would 
very  soon  have  an  export ;  whilst  as  to  the  adoption 
of  the  language  of  Mota,  he  could  say  that  it  was 
beginning  to  be  a  very  fair  channel  for  communi- 
cating accurate  theological  teaching,  they  having  to 
a  large  extent  made  it  so  by  assigning  deeper  meanings 
to  existing  words. 


JOim  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON.  353 

Other  departments  of  mission  work  did  not  pause. 
In  July  1868 — though  an  outbreak  of  typhus  in  several  of 
the  islands  had  given  great  concern,  carried  off  some  of  the 
scholars,  and  tried  the  bishop  much — he  tells  us  "  they 
have  now  in  Mota,  in  print,  St.  Luke  and  the  Acts,  and  soon 
will  have  St.  John,  which  is  all  ready ;  the  Prayer-Book, 
save  some  of  the  Psalms,  and  a  few  other  small  portions ; 
and  in  manuscript  they  have  a  kind  of  manual  of  the 
Catechism,  abstracts  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament, 
papers  on  prophecy,  &c.  All  this  work, once  done  in  Mota, 
is,  without  very  much  labour,  to  be  transferred  into  Bauro, 
Mahaga,  Mara,  &c.,  as  I  hope,  but  that  is  in  the  future." 

The  stations  on  Norfolk  Island  and  at  Mota  formed 
excellent  resting-points  for  the  bishop,  and  lightened  his 
labours  materially,  so  far  as  the  sea-voyaging  was  con- 
cerned. But  he  knew  no  real  rest  Wherever  he  was, 
there  were  others  to  be  cared  for,  and  he  was  instant  in 
season  and  out  of  season.  What  ominously  varies  the 
record  of  his  work  during  the  last  two  years,  is  that 
running  protest  against  the  nefarious  kidnapping  which 
went  on  more  and  more  as  the  demand  for  labour 
increased  in  Fiji  and  Queensland,  and  towards  which 
Government  seemed  to  be  supine,  or  indeed  wholly 
indifferent.     In  November  1869,  the  bishop  writes  : — 

'*  I  know  of  no  case  of  actual  violence  in  the  Banks 
Islands,  but  in  every  case  they  took  people  away  under 
false  pretences,  asserting  that  tlie  '  bishop  is  ill  and 
can't  come,  and  he  has  sent  us  to  bring  you  to  iiim  ;'  or 


354  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON. 

'  the  bishop  is  in  Sydney  ;  he  broke  his  leg  getting  into 
his  boat,  and  has  sent  us  to  take  you  to  him,'  &c.  In 
most  places,  where  any  of  our  young  people  happened  to 
be  on  the  shore,  they  warned  their  companions  against 
these  men,  but  not  always  with  success." 

The  knowledge  of  this  must  have  added  considerably 
to  the  bishop's  sense  of  danger ;  but  he  had  self-control 
enough  to  exhibit  no  trace  of  fear,  and  went  from  island 
to  island  with  the  same  frank,  trustful  bearing  as  before. 
Some  time  before  this  he  had  written  these  words,  which 
now  required  strictest  practical  illustration,  though  it  was 
wonderful  how  he  still  managed  to  restrain  all  show  of 
suspicion  or  timidity  : — 

"  I  must  not  forget  that  I  have  some  islands  to  visit  in 
the  next  month  or  two  where  the  people  are  very  wild, 
so  that  I,  of  all  people,  have  least  reason  to  speculate 
about  what  I  may  hope  to  do  a  year  hence.  The  real 
anxiety  is  in  the  making  up  my  own  mind  whether  or  not 
I  ought  to  lower  the  boat  in  such  a  sea-way ;  whether  or 
not  I  ought  to  swim  ashore  among  these  fellows  crowded 
there  on  the  narrow  beach." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  additional 
anxiety  which  these  circumstances  caused  him  did  much 
to  bring  on  such  depression  and  ill-health  as  led  his 
friends,  who  deemed  that  his  case  was  worse  than  he  had 
represented  it,  to  urge  him  to  come  home  to  England  for 
a  short  furlough,  that  he  might  procure  proper  medical 
aJvice.     But  to  this  he  would  not  listen,  and  replies  : — 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PAT TE SON.  355 

"I  should  gain  nothing  by  having  medical  advice 
there.  I  am  quite  satisfied  that  I  know  what  is  the 
matter  with  me,  and  the  way  to  treat  my  malady  ;  and 
the  voyages  and  the  life  in  England,  and  the  climate, 
would  be  all  much  against  my  health.  And  I  get  on 
very  well  again  now.  Humanly  speaking,  I  may  do  a 
good  deal  of  work  yet,  rather  in  a  quieter  way  perhaps 
than  of  old ;  but  then  I  need  not  have  any  more 
adventures,  except  in  one  or  two  places,  perhaps,  like 
Santa  Cruz.  That  stage  of  the  mission  is  past  in  a  good 
many  islands,  and  I  can  devolve  some  part  of  it  on  my 
really  excellent  and  very  dear  friends  and  helpers  in 
the  other  islands.  Brooke  and  Atkin  (both  in  priests' 
orders)  spend  three  months  in  their  respective  fields  of 
work  on  the  Solomon  Islands,  among  wild  fellows  (still 
practising,  at  times,  cannibalism) ;  and  when  you  can 
get  fellows  to  do  this  cheerily  and  making  nothing  of 
it,  doing  it  as  a  matter  of  course,  you  may  feel  pretty 
sure  you  have  fellows  of  the  right  stuff." 

So  he  went  on,  pursuing  his  regular  round  of  work, 
now  at  Norfolk  Island,  teachi  ng  theology  and  aiding  in 
the  various  crafts  there  practised ;  again  at  Mota,  and 
helping  in  farm  work,  and  once  more  moving  from 
island  to  island  and  reef  to  reef,  bringing  off  his  boys, 
and  later  in  the  year  landing  them  again ;  whilst  his 
helpers  were  finding  access  to  Tikopian  giants,  who  had 
visited  them  at  Mota,  and  otherwise  forwarding  the 
work.     Santa  Cruz  caused  him  much  concern ;  but  at 


356  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PAITESON. 

Nukapu,  in  1870,  he  is  well  received,  the  women 
dancing  in  his  honour  and  giving  small  presents.  The 
people,  when  they  came  on  board,  asked,  "Where  is 
Bisambe?"  He  replies,  "Here  I  am."  "No,  no,"  say 
they ;  "  the  Bisambe  hiai  (of  old) :  your  maiua  (father). 
Is  he  below?  Why  doesn't  he  come  up  with  some 
hatchets  ?  " — showing  that  they  well  remembered  Bishop 
Selwyn  and  the  former  visit. 

On  October  nth  he  makes  this  record  : — 
"  A  topsail  schooner  in  sight  between  Ambrym  and 
Paama — one  of  those  kidnapping  vessels.  I  have  any 
amount  of  (to  me)  conclusive  evidence  of  downright 
kidnapping.  But  I  don't  think  I  could  prove  any  case 
in  a  Sydney  court.  They  have  no  names  painted  on 
some  of  their  vessels,  and  the  natives  can't  catch  nor 
pronounce  the  names  of  the  white  men  on  board." 

On  April  27th,  1871,  he  started  on  his  last  voyage. 
Mota  was  visited ;  then  came  a  cruise  among  the 
islands  of  the  New  Hebrides  t,roup ;  after  that  a  few 
weeks  back  at  Mota,  baptizing  children,  &c. ;  and  then 
on  to  the  Santa  Cruz  group.  Almost  everywhere  were 
tokens  of  the  kidnapper — some  of  the  islands  were  half 
depopulated ;  and  now  the  bishop  began  to  realise  the 
necessity  and  the  prudence  of  "  not  going  near  the 
islands,  unless  we  have  a  good  breeze,  and  can  get  away 
from  the  fleets  of  canoes,  if  we  see  reason  for  so  doing." 
As  they  approached  Nukapu,  that  "lay  with  the  blue 
waves  breaking  over  the  circling  reef,  the  white  line  of 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  P ATT  1. SON.  357 

coral  sand  and  the  trees  coming  down  to  it,"  the  bishop 
liad  spoken  to  them  on  the  death  of  St.  Stephen.  He 
had  collected  many  presents  to  take  ashore,  and,  going 
into  the  boat,  pulled  towards  the  canoes.  The  men  in 
them  seemed  undecided  what  to  do.  When,  however, 
he  offered  to  go  ashore  they  assented,  and  the  boat 
having  gone  on  to  a  part  of  the  reef,  some  of  the  men 
proposed  to  take  the  bishop  into  their  canoe.  As  he 
found  the  entering  of  their  canoes  a  good  means  of  dis- 
arming suspicion,  he  complied ;  but  soon  after  he  heard 
the  ominous  word  tabu,  or  warning,  and  yams  and  fruits 
were  presented  to  him,  no  doubt  in  the  hope  that  he 
vrould,  according  to  their  superstition,  touch  something 
tabu,  and  thus  justify  their  striking  him.  The  bishop,  hav- 
ing waded  through  the  surf,  landed  on  the  beach,  and  he 
was  lost  to  the  sight  of  the  crew  of  the  boat,  which  was 
now  drifting  about  among  the  canoes.  But  suddenly  a 
man  in  one  of  the  canoes  stood  up  and  shot  one  of  their 
yard-long  arrows  toward  the  boat,  and  his  companions  in 
other  two  canoes  immediately  did  the  same,  calling  out 
as  they  aimed,  "  This  for  New  Zealand  man  !  This  for 
Bauro  man !  This  for  Mota  man  ! "  Before  the  boat 
could  be  pulled  back  all  were  wounded,  and  with 
difficulty  they  made  their  way  to  the  ship.  No  sooner, 
however,  had  an  arrow-head  been  extracted  from  Mr. 
Atkin's  shoulder,  giving  him  intense  pain,  than  he,  as 
being  the  only  one  who  knew  the  way  by  which  the  reef 
could  be  crossed  in  the  rising  tide,  went  with  some  others 


358  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON. 

in  search  of  the  bishop.  As  they  were  trying  to  cross 
the  reef  a  canoe  came  towards  them,  "  with  a  heap  in 
the  middle,"  and  when  they  met  it  the  two  words  "  the 
body  "  passed,  and  it  was  lifted  into  the  boat,  rolled  in 
the  native  mat.  "The  placid  smile  was  still  on  the 
face ;  there  was  a  palm-leaf  fastened  over  the  breast,  and 
when  the  mat  was  opened  there  were  five  wounds — no 
more," — these  having  been  given  by  clubs. 

Joseph  Atkin,  the  son  of  a  settler,  who  was  only 
twenty-nine,  but  had  already  done  great  service,  and 
Stephen  Taroniara,  a  native  of  Tanna,  who  was  twenty- 
five,  followed  their  master ;  but  it  was  their  lot,  unlike 
his,  to  pass  through  prolonged  tortures  before  death 
delivered  them. 

So  passed  Bishop  Patteson  and  his  followers;  martyrs 
to  the  woful  cupidity  of  civilised  men !  From  the 
wounds  and  other  indications  on  the  bishop's  body,  it 
was  clear  that  his  death  was  the  vengeance  for  five  of 
the  natives  carried  away.  But  it  may  be  that  his 
mournful  death  will  further  the  Gospel  in  Melanesia 
more  than  his  life  would  have  done.  Year  by  year,  the 
scholars  he  taught  will  return  to  tell  what  his  objects 
were ;  what  he  wrought  and  prayed  and  died  for ;  and 
his  story,  in  not  far-distant  days,  when  communication 
between  the  islands  shall  have  become  easier,  will  work 
as  with  a  charmed  power  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
"  Poor  Santa  Cruz  people  ! "  said  Fisher  Young  when 
dying ;  and  may  we  not  say  of  the  bishop  what  he  then 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA7TES0N.  359 

said  to  his  disciple,  **  My  dear  boy,  you  will  do  more  for 
their  conversion  by  your  death  than  ever  we  shall  by  our 
lives "  ?  And  yet  how  can  we  but  mourn  the  close  ? 
He  seemed  as  if  born  for  the  work  he  had  undertaken. 
He  was  so  patient,  so  humble,  with  such  power  to  elicit 
the  best  in  those  he  came  in  contact  with,  and,  above 
all,  so  full  of  faith  and  hope.  In  him  what  is  best  in 
the  English  gentleman  had  received  consecration :  he 
was  manly,  catholic-minded,  and  with  that  pre-eminent 
care  and  consideration  for  others,  which,  apart  from 
Christian  influence,  is  so  apt  to  degenerate  into  senti- 
mental weakness.  He  was  at  once  tender  and  self-reliant, 
scorning  all  noise  and  pretence  so  sincerely  that,  though 
*'  they  bothered  him  to  put  anecdotes  of  adventures  into 
his  Reports,  he  could  not  do  it ; "  yet  so  appreciative 
was  he  of  good  intentions  in  those  by  whom  he  was 
surrounded,  that  soon  in  his  honest  conception  they 
came  to  surpass  him.  Any  little  narrowness  that  may  be 
detected  in  him,  he  may  be  said  to  have  inherited,  and, 
with  genuine  Christian  manliness,  he  rose  above  most  of 
these,  realising  an  ideal  of  priestly  service  such  as  has 
been  exhibited  by  only  a  few  men  in  any  generation. 

His  character  is  not  of  the  kind  that  tempts  to 
analysis.  His  greatness  lay  in  a  few  very  simple 
elements.  He  was  above  all  sincere,  and  whilst  he 
held  the  faith  fast,  he  never  subsided  into  the  mere 
dogmatist.  His  humanity  was  too  broad,  and  his  heart 
too   tender   for   tliat.      His   respect    and   love   for   the 


36o  JOHN  COLERIDGE  PATTESON. 

missionaries — Presbyterian  and  other — wb®  had  found  a 
sphere  in  the  islands  of  the  South  Pacific,  and  his 
brotherly  conduct  towards  them,  will  mark  him  out  with 
the  greater  honour  the  more  that  his  contact  with  them 
is  made  known.  Besides  his  kind  attentions  to  Mr. 
Paton  at  Tanna,  to  Mr.  Geddie  at  Anaiteum,  and  to  the 
poor  bereaved  women  at  Fate,  which  Miss  Yonge  has 
recorded,  there  is  that  striking  incident  at  Api  which 
surpasses  them  all  Two  Raratongan  teachers  and  their 
wives  had  been  settled  on  that  island,  and  had  fallen 
under  the  anger  of  the  fierce  shore  tribes.  The  men 
died  or  were  put  to  death,  and  the  women  escaped  to 
the  hills.  Bishop  Patteson,  touching  at  the  island  and 
hearing  of  their  fate,  made  his  way  to  the  hills,  and,  in 
face  of  risk  and  danger,  found  them  out,  offering  them 
a  passage  in  his  vessel.  This  they  unwisely  declined, 
fearing  that  the  crew  of  the  John  Williams^  when  she 
came,  would  be  disappointed  at  not  finding  them.  They 
had  suffered  much  already ;  the  bishop  urged  that  they 
might  suffer  more  and  worse  trials  :  but  they  would  not 
go  with  him.  And  they  did  suffer.  They  Hved  as  they 
could  for  a  while  on  yams  and  taro  or  such  fare  as  they 
could  find,  and  then  they  sold  garment  after  garment  to 
the  natives  for  food,  till  only  one  was  left,  and  with  that 
they  would  not  part,  to  go  dressed  in  the  mat  of  the 
native  women — they  said  they  would  die  rather.  They 
were  reduced  almost  to  skeletons  before  they  were 
relieved  by  their  own  mission-ship. 


JOHN  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON.  36t 

This  incident  brings  out  Bishop  Patteson's  rare  sym- 
pathy and  fearlessness  in  the  strongest  light.  To  do 
such  a  thing  was  with  him  a  matter  of  every  day,  was 
felt  by  him  to  be  no  more  than  duty,  and  it  has  found  no 
record  in  his  life  ;  but  it  was  a  piece  of  heroism  such  as 
has  made  many  men  famous,  and  such  as  there  is  but 
occasional  room  for  even  in  a  soldier's  life. 

In  thinking  over  the  main  details  of  such  a  life,  filled 
with  constant  effort  and  self-denial,  one  is  apt  enough 
unconsciously  to  fall  into  the  idea  that  much  must  have 
been  owing  to  mere  strength  of  constitution — to  good 
spirits  springing  from  abounding  health  and  muscular 
strength.  But  it  may  surprise  some  to  know  that  in  spite 
of  fine  physical  development,  Bishop  Patteson  was  never 
what  could  be  called  strong.  He  often  suffered ;  and  was 
very  sensitive  to  colds,  as  Miss  Yonge  incidentally  tells 
us  in  her  very  striking  portrait  of  him  : — 

"  He  was  tall  and  powerful  of  frame,  broad  in  the 
chest  and  shoulders,  and  with  small  neat  hands  and  feet, 
with  more  of  sheer  muscular  strength  and  power  of 
endurance  than  of  healthiness ;  so  that,  though  seldom 
breaking  down,  and  capable  of  undergoing  a  great  deal 
of  fatigue  and  exertion,  he  was  often  slightly  ailing,  and 
was  very  sensitive  to  cold.  His  complexion  was  very 
dark,  and  there  was  a  strongly  marked  line  between  the 
cheeks  and  mouth,  the  corners  of  which  drooped  when  at 
rest,  so  that  it  was  a  countenance  peculiarly  difficult  to 
photograph  successfully.     The  most  striking  feature  was 


362  JOnx  COLERIDGE  PA  TTESON. 

his  eyes,  which  were  of  a  very  dark,  clear  blue,  full  of 
unusually  deep,  earnest,  and,  so  to  speak,  inward  yet  far- 
away expression.  His  smile  was  remarkably  bright, 
sweet,  and  affectionate,  like  a  gleam  of  sunshine,  and 
was  one  element  of  his  great  attractiveness.  So  was  his 
voice,  which  had  the  rich,  full  sweetness  inherited  from 
his  mother's  family,  and  which  always  exerted  a  winning 
influence  over  the  hearers." 

The  following  sonnet  from  the  pen  of  one  of  our 
truest  poets  and  most  philanthropic  women  (now,  alas  ! 
gone  from  us),  may  not  unfitly  close  our  sketch  of  this 
great  and  earnest  missionary  : — 

BISHOP  PATTESON. 

An  angel  came  and  cried  to  him  by  night, 

*'  God  needs  a  martyr  from  thy  little  band  ; 
Name  me  the  purest  soul,  that,  closely  scanned. 

Still  overflows  with  sweetness  and  with  light, 
That  finds  no  limit  till  they  reach  the  Land 

Where  their  spring  rose!"  Weeping  for  what  must  be^ 
He  named  them  all,  with  love  adorning  each  ; 

And  still  that  angel  smiled  upon  his  speech. 
And,  smiling  still,  went  upward  silently, 

Not  marking  any  name.     Amazed  he  knelt. 
Discerning  not  the  truth.     But  when  the  stroke 

Fell,  not  an  angel,  but  the  Master  spoke 
With  words  so  strong  that  nothing  else  was  felt, 

"  Thou  art  the  man  1     Beloved,  come  to  Me  ! " 

M.  B.  S. 


(    363    ) 


JOHN  G.  FEE  AND  THE  FREEDMEN  OF 
AMERICA. 


IN  the  year  1843  a  young  man,  the  son  of  a  Kentuckian 
slaveholder,  ventured  to  question  the  riglit  of  a 
Christian  to  hold  slaves.  He  had  been  educated  for 
the  Church,  and  a  distinguished  career  seemed  to  await 
him.  Nothing  but  obloquy  and  loss  was  likely  to  result 
to  him  from  the  adoption  of  such  views.  Nevertheless 
he  persisted  in  the  course  he  had  marked  out  for  himself. 
His  father  at  first  refused  him  the  house,  and  finally 
disinherited  him.  The  public  influence  in  Kentucky 
was  against  him,  and  when,  coincidently  with  his  father's 
ahenation  from  him,  his  consequent  sorrow,  and  yet 
more  sacred  devotion  of  himself  to  the  cause  of  the  slave, 
he  heard  of  the  efforts  that  the  Tappans  and  their  friends 
were  making  in  the  North  to  found  a  missionary  society 
chiefly  to  aid  and  to  teach  the  bondmen,  he  gladly  cast 
in  his  lot  with  theirs.  The  American  Missionary  Society, 
whose  remarkable  progress  we  now  mean  to  trace,  was 
the  result  of  the  association.     It  was  founded  in  1846, 


364  JOHX  G.  FEE. 

and  shortly  after  its  foundation  John  G.  Fee,  the  disin- 
herited, became  its  leading  agent.  He  travelled  from 
end  to  end  of  the  country,  ceaselessly  active  in  his 
endeavours  to  stir  up  others  to  an  interest  in  the  good 
cause.  He  wisely  adopted  the  colportage  plan,  and 
found  proper  agents ;  and  was  certainly  one  of  the  main 
instruments  in  making  this  society  the  great  influence  it 
has  become.  That  we  are  right  in  naming  it  "  a  great 
influence  "  will  be  manifest  by  a  very  brief  glance  at  the 
facts. 

When  the  American  Missionary  Society  was  founded, 
the  slaveholding  interests  were  powerful  enough  to 
modify  political  action  in  all  directions.  The  slave- 
holders seemed  to  have  agents  everywhere,  and  to 
exercise  a  sort  of  ubiquitous  revenge.  It  was  no  plea- 
sant matter  to  be  an  anti-slavery  man  in  the  United 
States  then  :  life  itself  was  sometimes  endangered.  The 
stores  of  the  Tappans  were  several  times  mobbed,  and 
the  men  themselves  assaulted.  Daniel  Worth  and  Gerrit 
Smith  fared  hardly  better,  and  John  Brown,  an  early 
friend  of  the  society,  became  a  martyr  to  the  cause. 
And  when  at  length,  after  great  struggles,  apparently 
resultless,  public  opinion  had  ripened  to  such  a  degree 
that  it  seemed  as  if  the  federal  Government  was  about 
to  curtail  the  slaveholding  power,  the  slaveholders  them- 
selves arose,  as  if  by  an  irony  of  Providence,  only  to 
precipitate  the  downfall  of  their  system  amidst  unprece- 
dented bloodshed.     Two  millions  of  men  fell  in  that 


JOHX  G.  FEE.  365 

grievous  war  :  by  it  four  and  a  half  millions  of  men  and 
women  who  had  been  doomed  to  a  worse  than  Egyptian 
bondage — bought  and  sold  like  cattle  in  the  market-place 
— were  set  free. 

"  They  came  up  poor,  homeless,  naked,  and  in  want 
"Tjf  all  things.  It  was  a  touching  sight  to  see  them 
coming,  in  motley  crowds,  around  the  military  camp, 
mothers  carrying  a  child,  and  not  unfrequently  two 
children,  in  their  arms ;  strong  men  bearing  the  decrepid 
and  aged  on  their  shoulders,  believing  that,  as  Israel  of 
old,  they  were  to  be  led  by  the  Lord  through  the  wilder- 
ness— to  the  promised  land — to  a  higher  and  better  life." 
And  then  it  was  seen  by  what  providential  discipline  of 
patient  waiting  and  working  the  American  societies,  but 
more  especially  the  American  Missionary  Society,  had 
been  educated  and  prepared  to  cope  with  a  result  so 
radical — as  unprecedented,  as  but  a  short  time  before  it 
had  been  unexpected.  There  were  not  wanting  at  this 
time  (at  what  time  have  they  been  wanting  since  Nehe- 
miah  had  to  deal  with  them  when  he  returned  to  build 
up  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  ?)  good  people  to  predict  dark 
things.  They  prophesied  that  the  latter  state  of  the  poor 
negroes  would  be  worse  than  the  first,  that  in  their 
freedom  they  would  simply  sink  in  grovelling  idleness 
and  bestiality,  and  that  the  country  would  have  cause  to 
regret  their  enfranchisement  more  than  the  most  foolish 
political  measures  any  legislature  had  ever  passed.  They 
had   no   power   to   govern   themselves,   it   was   urged ; 


366  JOHN  G.  FEE. 

motives  of  self  respect  were  lacking  to  them.  And  it 
needs  to  be  frankly  acknowledged  that  from  an  a  priori 
point  of  view  their  opinion  seemed  not  far  wrong.  Dark 
races  have  so  often  succumbed  under  the  freedom  of 
civilisation's  blessings  and  vices.  Race  after  race  has 
died  out.  The  Indians  of  the  Far  West  and  the  Maoris 
of  New  Zealand  are  being  decimated.  The  Tasmanians 
have  totally  disappeared.  But  the  Negro,  if  he  has  his 
peculiar  weaknesses,  has  also  his  peculiar  strength,  both 
physical  and  moral,  and  this  the  prophets  of  evil  did 
not  fully  realise.  That  their  direful  prophecies  have  not 
been  fulfilled,  but  wholly  falsified  by  the  event,  is  owing 
in  great  measure  to  the  society  best  known  in  England 
as  the  "  Freedman's  Aid  Society,"  that  being  the  name 
given  to  its  branch  or  auxiliary  in  our  country,  under 
the  presidency  of  Lord  Shaftesbury.  From  the  first, 
attempts  had  been  made  by  the  Society  to  teach  the 
negroes,  and  to  establish  schools  for  them  and  their 
children  amidst  unnameable  difficulties.  Regular  day- 
schools  for  freedmen  had  been  started  at  several  points, 
the  first  being  that  at  Hampton  in  Virginia,  by  the 
Rev.  L.  C.  Lockwood,  in  1861.  Its  first  mistress  was 
a  coloured  woman,  the  daughter  of  a  white  father  by  a 
mulatto  mother ;  and  though  she  herself  had  scarcely  a 
trace  of  colour,  and  was  free-born,  she  had  experienced 
to  the  full  the  fatal  prejudice  which  had  excluded  such 
even  as  she  was  from  the  white  schools.  For  never  was 
a  cruel  prejudice  more  cruelly  enforced  than  this.     No 


JOHN  G.  FEE.  367 

ex-slave  or  child  of  a  slave-mother  was  allowed  to  enter 
any  school  where  white  children  were  taught  Dr.  White, 
the  secretary  of  the  Freedman's  Aid  Society  in  this 
country,  tells  us  that  he  has  seen  the  children  of  slave- 
mothers  with  fair  skin,  light  hair,  and  blue  eyes,  yet 
these  were  hopelessly  shut  out  from  the  white  schools, 
and  doomed  to  the  degradation  of  an  alien  race.  And 
so  this  first  coloured  school  is  historical.  Almost  on 
the  very  spot  where  it  stood,  two  hundred  and  forty 
years  before,  the  first  slave-ship  entered,  and  planted  the 
seed  of  that  baleful  harvest ;  and  that  woman,  the 
representative  of  both  races,  "though  by  the  bitter 
logic  of  slavery  classed  with  the  oppressed,  will  be 
remembered  as  the  teacher  of  the  first  coloured  school 
in  the  slave  States  that  had  legal  authority  and  the 
protection  of  the  national  guns."  She  died  within  a  year 
after  the  school  was  opened,  but  not  before  many  other 
schools  had  sprung  up  over  the  land. 

The  moment  emancipation  was  decreed,  a  new  era 
began.  Soon  the  capacities  of  the  negroes  for  education 
were  triumphantly  demonstrated.  The  patient  Christian 
character  which  in  slavery  had  been  formed  in  many  of 
them  presented  a  favourable  soil  on  which  to  work. 
They  were  eager  to  learn  to  read,  chiefly  in  order  that 
the  Scriptures  might  be  opened  to  them,  and  soon  the 
more  favoured  intellectually  began  to  be  exercised  by 
thought  of  efforts  for  the  more  ignorant  of  their  brethren. 
The  business  of  the  society  since  then  has  rather  been 


368  JOHN  G.  FEE. 

to  direct  and  to  utilise  a  great  enthusiasm  than  to  stir  it. 
Schools  and  colleges  have  arisen  over  the  land,  and  the 
details  of  their  work  are  not  more  interesting  than  some 
of  the  characteristic  stories  told  of  those  who  by  reason 
of  age  cannot  hope  to  be  personally  much  benefited  by 
these  institutions.  Dr.  White  tells  that  one  will  often 
see  aged  men  and  women  bending  over  the  Primer  with 
young  children,  studying  till  late  at  night  by  the  light  of 
the  pine-knots  of  the  country,  because  they  are  too  poor 
to  have  any  other  light.  One  woman,  eighty  years  of 
age,  worked  for  her  board  and  went  to  school.  "When 
she  had  mastered  the  alphabet,  she  said,  in  the  peculiar 
dialect  of  her  people,  "  Now  let  me  spell  de  name  of 
Jesus,  for  it  'pears  like  all  will  be  easier  when  I  learn  to 
spell  de  blessed  name."  And  it  seems  quite  true,  as  Dr. 
White  says,  that  in  the  educated  negro  we  have  promise 
of  a  new  type  of  Christian  character — strong  in  intuition, 
simple,  and  full  of  a  large-hearted  practicality  and  hope- 
ful faith.  One  anecdote  that  he  tells  will  illustrate  the 
promise  of  this  : — 

In  one  of  their  churches,  the  poor  old  minister,  who 
had  been  a  slave,  and  could  not  read,  wanted  some 
deacons  to  aid  him  in  his  work.  Two  were  found. 
Then  this  man  said,  "  If  any  one  knows  de  reason  why 
dese  bredderen  may  not  be  consecrated  to  dis  office,  he 
shall  tell  of  dat,  and  now  object."  An  old  slave  man 
rose  to  say,  "I  has  to  object."  "What  for  dus  you 
object  ?  "  says  the  minister.     "  Dem  can't  read,"  was  the 


JOHX  G.   FEE.  369 

reply.  "  Well,"  the  minister  continued,  "  can  you  read  ?  " 
"No;  but  I  wants  to  be  led  by  dem  dat  knows  more 
dan  I."  The  minister  replied,  "None  of  de  members 
knows  to  read ;  dese  is  de  best  wes  got,  and  we  must 
ask  de  Lord  to  bless  dem,  dat  dey  may  help  to  lead  de 
people  to  a  higher  and  better  life."  So  the  two  knelt 
before  him,  and  this  old  sable  servant  of  God  laid 
a  hand  on  the  head  of  each,  kneeled  down,  and  lifted 
his  eyes  to  heaven,  while  the  tears  were  on  his  cheeks, 
and  said,  "  Massa  Jesus,  you  knows  wes  just  come  out 
of  de  house  of  bondage,  dat  wes  a  poor,  ignorant,  feeble 
portion  of  de  children  of  Adam,  dat  wes  got  no  edica- 
tion,  but  we  wants  to  do  what  we  can  for  de  people,  and 
for  de  glory  of  de  Lord.  O  dear  King  of  de  kings,  now 
help  dese  wes  chosen  for  de  office  of  deacons  in  dis 
church.  You  knows  dat  dey  can't  read  de  blessed  book, 
but,  Massa,  deys  de  best  wes  got,  and,  derefore,  we  conse- 
crates dem  to  dis  office,  and  to  de  God  ob  de  people." 
What  an  appeal  is  in  this  for  sympathy  and  aid  from 
those  to  whom  God  has  given  so  many  gifts  richly  to 
enjoy !  There  are  thousands  of  these  people,  we  hear 
of,  who  are  equally  anxious  to  be  prepared  to  do  all  in 
their  power  for  their  own  race,  and  for  the  cause  of  the 
Master.  Some  of  the  pupils  in  the  schools  of  the  society 
have  reached  the  place  of  study,  coming  thinly  clad 
and  barefooted  across  the  frozen  ground,  day  after  day. 
in  the  bleak  season  of  the  year.     Often  the  tears  will  be 

on  their  cheeks  from  actual  suffering.     Another  anecdote 

2  A 


370  JOHN  G.  FEE. 

bearing  this  out  is  so  touching  that  we  must  quote 
it:— 

Three  young  men,  anxious  to  be  prepared  for  their 
great  life-work  among  their  own  peojjle,  walked  four 
hundred  miles  in  the  heat  of  the  summer  to  one  of  the 
colleges  for  coloured  students,  and  asked  to  be  permitted 
to  enter  for  a  course  of  study.  The  president  had  to 
tell  them,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that  he  could  not  re- 
ceive them,  as  there  were  more  already  in  the  college 
than  could  be  supported  on  the  money  given  for  that 
purpose.  They  went  away  and  consulted  together,  and 
after  a  little  came  back.  Then  one  of  them  said,  "  Take 
this  one  in,  and  let  him  be  educated,  for  he  has  the  gifts, 
and  we  will  go  out  and  work  on  the  plantations  to  raise 
the  money  to  pay  for  it."  But  three  gentlemen,  having 
heard  of  the  case,  asked  what  would  be  needed  for  them, 
and  when  told,  they  furnished  the  money. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Fisk  University  has  been 
built  and  endowed,  and  the  noble  efforts  of  the  Jubilee 
Singers  generally,  are  evidences  known  to  the  whole 
wor\d  of  the  desire  of  the  educated  negroes  to  benefit 
their  race.  Schools  and  colleges  of  the  highest  class  are 
now  springing  up  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
the  States,  and  the  influence  of  this  education  is  already 
evident,  socially,  in  the  many  men  of  colour  who  now 
fill  situations  of  trust  and  honour  in  America.  The 
society  recently  had  at  work  over  60  missionaries,  200 
teachers,  and  24  matrons ;   there  were  56  churches  in 


JOHN  G.  FEE.  371 

the  South,  2  among  the  Indians,  and  7  in  the  foreign 
field;  it  had  3601  church-members  in  the  South,  and 
about  600  elsewhere;  it  had  32  schools  in  the  South,  7 
chartered  institutions,  and  17  other  institutions;  audit 
had  altogether  nearly  10,000  pupils,  while  of  pupils  in 
the  South  now  taught  by  former  pupils,  there  were  64,000. 
There  were  nearly  5000  in  the  upper  grades,  from  what 
is  designated  normal,  up  through  collegiate  preparatory, 
collegiate  and  law,  to  theological.  And  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible  that  the  few  years  which  have  elapsed  since  these 
figures  were  taken  have  seen  a  considerable  increase. 

It  is  clear  that  to  carry  on  such  a  work  as  this  a  very 
perfect  machinery   is  required.     We  read  in   a  recent 
report,   "It  is  estimated  that  from  Great  Britain  more 
than  ;^2oo,ooo  has  been  contributed,   in  money  and 
clothing,    through   various  channels   for  the   freedmen. 
The  American  Missionary  Society  has  shared  largely  in 
the  kind  words  that  have  come  across  the  water.     Its 
representatives  have  been  welcomed  by  the  Congrega- 
tional Union  of  England  and  Wales,  the  General  Assem- 
blies of  Scotland,  and  also  by  the  British  and  Foreign 
Anti- Slavery  Society."     It  is  pleasant  to  read  such  words ; 
and  we  hope  that  this  country  will  not  cool  in  its  enthu- 
siasm in  the  cause,  or  reduce  the  amount  of  aid  that  it 
has  given.     Still  more  will  be  needed,  and  we  know  it 
will  be  well  applied  in  carrying  forward  yet  wider  enter- 
prises of  a  truly  cosmopolitan  character.     The  movement 
in  America  for  the  education  of  the  negro  is  seen  day  by 


372  JOHN  G.  FEE. 

day  to  have  a  more  direct  bearing  on  the  great  question 
of  the  evangelisation  of  Africa.  This  is  the  way  in 
which  God  in  His  Providence  works.  He  prepares  a 
field ;  far  distant  from  it  He  prepares  also  suitable 
workers,  and  they  come  forward  at  the  right  moment. 
The  American  Missionary  Society,  with  the  distinct  pur- 
pose of  making  the  African  a  means  to  raise  his  race, 
has  in  view  an  extension  of  its  field  by  settlements  at 
places  where  it  would  be  most  hazardous  for  white  men 
to  attempt  it.  At  various  points  of  entrance  to  the 
great  African  field,  the  white  missionary  within  a  few 
years  seems  almost  inevitably  to  succumb  to  the  climate. 
The  experience  at  Sierra  Leone,  for  one  place,  attests 
this.  There  the  Church  Missionary  Society  lost  thirty 
missionaries  in  twelve  years ;  the  Wesleyan  Society  buried 
forty  in  the  same  period;  and  ten  out  of  seventeen 
missionaries  of  the  Basle  Society  died  within  two  years 
of  entering  on  their  work.  The  American  Board,  the 
Presbyterian  and  Baptist  Societies,  have  all  suffered 
severely  in  Africa,  Hence  the  value  of  the  work  which 
the  American  Missionary  Society  has  done,  and  is  doing. 
Its  aim  is  to  send  Africans  to  Africans — to  train  them  to 
true  knowledge,  aptness  in  handicrafts  as  well  as  in  learn- 
ing, and  to  make  them  the  missionaries  to  their  own  race. 
Dr.  Moffat,  than  whom  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  better 
authority,  said  some  time  ago  at  a  public  meeting  in 
London,  "It  is  utterly  useless,  humanly  speaking,  for  us 
alone  to  attempt  to  evangeUse  Africa ;  but  in  the  trained 


JOHN  G.  FEE.  373 

members  of  the  African  race  we  may  look  for  glorious 
results."  To  this  conviction  the  missionary  mind  seems 
to  have  conclusively  come,  and  the  character  of  such 
missions  as  those  at  Lovedale  and  at  Livingstonia  suffi- 
ciently attests  it.  A  native  ministry  is  the  best,  the 
cheapest,  and  the  only  efficient  one  in  such  a  climate. 
And  it  is  due  to  the  American  Missionary  Society  to 
acknowledge  that  it  was  amongst  the  first  to  give  practical 
application  to  this  idea.  Every  school  and  mission  sus- 
tained in  the  South  not  only  attests  the  capacity  of  the 
freedmen  for  fair  intellectual  acquirements,  but  is  pro- 
phetic of  the  importance  that  this  people  may  become  to 
Africa  as  teachers  and  missionaries.  The  coloured  man 
of  the  South  will  do  his  part  to  carry  the  knowledge  of 
Christ  across  the  sea.  "The  Little  done,  the  Much 
remains  to  do."  Results  so  far  are  encouraging,  and 
show  more  and  more  clearly  the  best  methods  for  the 
future.  Yet,  when  contrasted  with  the  vast  extent  of 
the  field,  but  the  outer  borders  seem  to  have  been 
touched.  Only  a  few  millions  out  of  upwards  of  two 
hundred  millions  have  as  yet  been  reached  with  the  in- 
fluences of  Christianity.  It  is  estimated  that  75,000,000 
in  Central  Africa  alone  have  never  yet  heard  of  the 
Saviour.  Surely  then,  every  Christian  will  heartily  wish 
success  to  the  American  Missionary  Society,  and  its 
branch  best  known  to  us,  "  The  Freedman's  Aid  Society." 
By  way  of  a  closing  word,  we  may  cite  from  a  disin- 
terested authority,  who  some  time  ago  wrote  in  the  New 


374  JOHX  G.  FEE. 

York  Nation,  "  I  write  from  the  feeling  that,  like  myself, 
the  majority  of  the  Republican  rank  and  file  at  tlie 
North  have  been  taking  too  hopeless  a  view  of  Southern 
problems.  I  write  from  that  portion  of  South  Carolina 
which  has  the  largest  preponderance  of  negroes.  The 
extent  to  which  these  negroes,  of  all  ages,  have  learned 
to  read  and  write,  and  their  eagerness  to  acquire  the 
rudiments  of  knowledge,  together  with  their  industry, 
docility,  and  their  political  sagacity,  are  no  less  gratify- 
ing than  surprising Under  the  patronage  of  the 

American  Missionary  Association,  normal  schools  of  a 
high  grade,  and  largely  attended,  are  maintained  at  nume- 
rous centres.  There  is  great  progress  in  the  coloured 
churches,  and  they  are  founding  theological  schools  of 
their  own." 


APPENDIX. 


MORAVIAN   MISSIONARY   FACTS. 

Our  readers  who  have  followed  us  with  any  interest  through 
our  sketches  of  Oglethorpe  and  Zeisberger,  may  be  interested 
ih  learning  some  further  facts  about  the  Moravian  mission- 
aries who  have  done  such  wonderful  work  with  such 
limited  means.  As  we  have  said,  the  Moravians  have 
established  missions  in  the  West  Indies,  the  Moskito 
coast,  Australia  (among  the  natives),  South  Africa,  Central 
Asia,  and  Surinam,  besides  Labrador  and  Greenland,  with 
which  they  have  been  in  a  special  sense  associated.  The 
following  general  summary  from  the  Year-book  may  here 
be  given  by  way  of  introduction  to  what  is  to  follow  : — 

"Our  Church  maintained,  in  June  1878,  ninety-six 
mission-stations  in  various  parts  of  the  earth,  which  were 
served  by  327  mission/^.ries  (of  whom  34  were  native)  and 
1504  native  assistant?:.  There  were  under  our  care  23,843 
communicants,  49,327  baptized  adults,  candidates  for  bap- 
tism, &c.,  making  a  total  of  73,170.  There  were  222  Day 
Schools,  with  16,461  scholars,  and  86  Sunday  Schools,  with 
11,492  scholars.  The  income  of  our  missions,  for  whicli 
we  are  mainly  dependent  on  the  contributions  of  members 
and  friends,  amounted  in  1878  10^16,909,  and  the  expendi- 
ture to  be  met  by  this  sum  to  ^20,298,  leaving  a  deficiency 
on  the  year's  account  of  ^3388.  The  special  appeal  for 
the  deficiency  in  1879  (;^4959)  having  produced  .£3623, 
there  remained  in  December  31,  1878,  a  net  deficiency  of 

A734- 


376  APPENDIX. 

"  The  sums  raised  annually  at  the  various  stations  towards 
the  support  of  the  work  (by  contributions  of  the  members 
or  by  trade,  as  well  as  special  donations  for  school  purposes) 
are  estimated  at  about  ;^25,ooo,  including  the  interest  of 
capitals  left  for  the  support  of  specific  missions,  Government 
aid,  «&c. ;  the  actual  expenditure  of  our  whole  Mission  work 
in  the  year  1879  reached  a  total  of  about  _;i^48, 000.  The 
number  of  brethren  and  sisters  employed  in  this  service 
from  its  commencement  147  years  ago,  is  about  4000." 

Over  and  above  this  the  congregations  at  various  places 
devote  themselves  to  special  branches  of  Home-Mission 
work,  and  the  figures  regarding  these  objects  do  not  appear 
in  this  summary.      For  example,  we  read — 

"  The  German  province  carries  on  a  work  of  its  own,  in 
addition  to  undertaking  a  share  in  the  general  liability. 
This  consists  in  maintaining  an  evangelising  agency,  and 
in  supporting  to  a  great  extent  an  orphanage  at  Rothwasser, 
containing  120  children,  begun  by  Dr.  Hattwiz,  in  1869, 
on  his  own  responsibility.  The  liberal  help  given  by 
members  and  friends  in  all  the  provinces  towards  the 
rebuilding  of  this  orphanage,  which  was  nearly  destroyed 
by  fire  on  September  17,  1873,  has  been  most  gratefully 
acknowledged  by  the  committee.  The  total  contributed 
from  one  province  for  this  purpose  was  ^240,  and  the 
entire  sum  expended  on  the  new  building,  ^600." 

With  regard  to  the  individual  fields  our  space  will  allow 
us  to  give  but  the  briefest  report.  First,  of. Greenland.  It 
is  somewhat  saddening  to  read  that,  in  spite  of  the  devo- 
tion which  the  Moravian  Brethren  have  shown  towards 
Greenland,  and  the  sacrifices  they  have  undergone  for  it, 
the  work  does  not  meet  with  the  reward  that  might  have 
been  expected  for  it.  Of  course,  the  field  is  a  very  back- 
ward one — the  people  are  so  poor  that  it  would  almost  be 
too  much  to  expect  they  should  do  much  towards  the 
support  of  pastors,  &c.,  but  we  were  sorry  to  read  the 
following  : — 

"  Externally  the  condition  of  the  Greenlanders  has  not 
improved^  as  was  hoped.  Hard  times  have  been  of  frequent 
occurrence,  epidemics  carried  off  great  numbers  in  the  years 


APPENDIX.  377 

187 1-2  and  1856-7,  especially  in  the  three  southern  sta- 
tions. Multiplied  facilities  for  procuring  European  articles 
of  food  and  clothing  have  fostered  a  taste  for  these  things, 
which  is  most  prejudicial  to  the  well-being  of  the  natives. 
The  diminished  number  of  able-bodied  men,  whose  labour 
provides  food  for  the  community,  partly  owing  to  accidents 
at  sea,  partly  to  epidemics,  is  a  very  serious  drawback  to 
the  general  prosperity. 

"  Spiritually  the  Greenlanders  show  no  decided  improve- 
ment, in  the  opinion  of  the  missionaries,  and  the  number 
of  exclusions  for  gross  immorality  has  rather  increased. 
Whether  our  Greenland  congregations  will  ever  attain  to  a 
capacity  for  self-government  and  self-support,  the  future  must 
decide  :  progress  in  that  direction  is  exceedingly  slow.  The 
native  ministers  employed  by  the  Danish  mission  are  all 
half-Europeans,  in  no  case  pure  Greenlanders. 

"  In  1868  there  were  in  this  field  1734  souls  in  charge 
of  24  brethren  and  sisters  ;  in  1878  there  were  1526,  and 
the  number  of  missionaries  was  22."  * 

A  later  report  in  so  far  explains  the  position  and  accounts 
for  it  : — 

"  The  efforts  to  lead  the  congregations  to  a  position  of 
greater  independence  have  met  with  very  slight  success 
during  the  last  ten  years.  In  spite  of  the  training-schools 
at  New  Herrnhut  and  Lichtenau  with  a  curriculum  extend- 
ing through  six  winter  terms,  it  has  not  yet  been  possible 
to  obtain  a  supply  of  natives  able  to  take  the  place  of  the 
missionaries  in  the  direction  and  service  of  the  consreu^a- 
tions.  With  regard  to  self-support,  although  some  volun- 
tary contributions  towards  the  extension  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  have  been  received,  yet  poverty  prevails  so  generally 
among  the  natives,  and  no  less  the  custom  of  living  from 
hand  to  mouth,  without  a  notion  of  providing  against  bad 
times,  that  there  is  little  prospect  of  ever  bringing  them  so 
far  as  to  support  the  mission  themselves.  Entirely  depen- 
dent on  sealing  and  fishing  for  their  means  of  subsistence, 
they  used  to  find  in  the  former  an  ample  provision  for  food 
and  clothing.      The  facilities  of  trading  have  led  them  to 

*  From  Report  of  the  Directing  Board  to  the  Gener.il  Syno<i  of  1879. 


378  APPENDIX. 

exchange  the  necessaries  of  life  for  such  articles  of  food  as 
are  not  adapted  to  their  circumstances,  and  to  abandon  the 
old  fur  clothing,  which  enabled  them  to  brave  the  rigours 
of  their  Arctic  climate.  In  former  times  there  was  no  lack 
of  kayaks  and  women's  boats,  for  the  produce  of  the  chase 
remained  in  the  country.  The  sad  result  of  this  change  of 
circumstances  is  the  frequent  appearance  of  severe  epidemic 
diseases  among  them.  Thus  in  187 1-2  and  1875-6,  in 
the  congregations  of  Lichtenau,  Igdlorpait,  and  Frederick- 
sthal,  one-tenth  of  the  small  population  died.  Frequent 
disasters  at  sea  also  carried  off  useful  men  almost  every 
year.  This  is  especially  the  case  at  Lichtenfels,  and  is  the 
more  to  be  deplored,  as  it  is  entirely  the  labour  of  the  men 
that  provides  for  the  wants  of  the  family." 

In  Australia,  on  the  contrary,  much  fruit  is  ultimately 
promised  from  the  seed  sown. 

"  It  is  a  peculiar  feature  that  our  stations  here  are  not  on 
land  belonging  to  the  mission,  but  on  the  native  reserves, 
the  control  of  which  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Government. 
Here  rations  are  supplied  through  the  missionaries  to  those 
natives  who  are  unable  to  earn  their  own  living.  At 
Ramahyuck  promising  arrowroot  and  hop-grounds  have 
been  successfully  worked  by  the  blacks  for  the  benefit  of 
the  station,  while  for  the  same  object  at  Ebenezer  some 
sheep-farming  has  been  carried  on.  A  Royal  Commission, 
recently  appointed  to  inspect  the  aboriginal  stations,  and 
ascertain  whether  their  results  justified  their  continuation  or 
enlargement,  expressed  the  opinion  that  a  distribution  of 
the  native  population  among  the  whites  was  preferable  to 
their  collection  in  separate  villages  or  settlements.  A  con- 
tinuance of  our  work  in  Australia  in  the  same  manner  as 
hitherto  is,  therefore,  by  no  means  assured. 

"  During  the  last  ten  years  the  number  of  converts  has 
almost  doubled,  and  many  a  sheaf  of  ripe  corn  has  been 
gathered  into  the  garden  of  the  Lord  from  seed  sown  in 
faith  by  our  brethren  in  this  trying  but  interesting  field  of 
missionary  labour.  Looking  at  the  blessing  alone  which 
God  has  graciously  bestowed  here,  we  were  strongly  desirous 
of  accepting  the  repeated  invitations,  which  we  have  received 


APPENDIX.  379 

of  late  years,  to  extend  our  operations  in  Australia  ;  but  the 
difficulties  connected  with  the  direction  of  a  work  at  so 
great  a  distance,  and  the  heavy  expense,  far  exceeding  our 
means,  induced  us  to  decline  the  various  invitations  of 
our  Christian  friends  in  Australia."  * 

A  few  months  later  we  read  : — 

"  This  field  has  not  been  extended  since  the  last  Synod  ; 
the  same  two  stations,  namely,  Ebetwzer  in  the  Wimmera 
district,  and  Ramahyjick  in  Gippsland,  are  still  our  sole 
centres  of  activity.  They  have  become  neat  little  villages, 
with  pretty  churches  and  clean  and  tidy  dwellings  ;  a 
cursory  glance  at  the  natives  here  shows  that  'godliness 
is  profitable  unto  all  things.'  Many  of  the  blacks,  who 
used  to  lead  licentious  lives  in  their  camps,  have  by  degrees 
gathered  at  our  station ;  and  while  in  earlier  decades 
mortality  had  greatly  increased,  this  rapid  dying  out  of  the 
race  has  of  late  been  checked,  if  not  stopped.  Children  of 
Christian  parents,  born  at  our  stations,  are  healthier  than 
others,  and  the  number  of  births  has  exceeded  the  deaths. 
But  the  nation  as  a  whole  is  gradually  dwindling  away, 
and  all  friends  of  missions  are  putting  forth  every  effort 
in  order  to  bring  all  the  remaining  blacks  under  the 
influence  of  the  Gospel.  Consumption,  resulting  in  a 
great  measure  from  their  former  licentious  life,  is  the 
disease  which  carries  off  the  natives.  At  present  it  is 
estimated  that  the  whole  black  population  in  the  colony 
of  Victoria  scarcely  numbers  one  thousand  persons.  Many 
children  have  been  entrusted  to  the  missionaries  at  both 
stations  to  be  educated  by  them,  and  suitable  buildings 
have  been  erected  for  their  accommodation." 

It  would,  we  think,  be  a  great  pity  were  the  work  of  the 
Moravians  to  be  curtailed,  or  altogether  stopped,  through 
the  action  of  Government,  lack  of  funds,  or  the  difficulties 
arising  from  the  great  distance  from  headquarters. 

From  the  South  African  stations  there  are  cheering 
news  : — 

"Towards  self-support  progress  has  been  made,  the 
annual  contributions  from   the  district  being  about  .^428. 

•  From  Rrportof  the  Dirtctiiig  Board  lo  the  General  Synod  of  1S79. 


38o  APPENDIX. 

By  utilising  local  resources,  carrying  on  various  businesses, 
&c.,  this  portion  of  the  South  African  province  is  able  to 
meet  all  its  expenses,  except  the  charges  for  journeys  to 
and  from  Europe.  The  schools  are  much  improved,  and 
many  of  the  teachers  have  received  a  recognition  of  faith- 
ful and  efficient  service  in  the  shape  of  a  pecuniary  gratuity. 
The  work  of  building  up  the  churches  here  has  continued 
in  a  satisfactory  manner,  in  spite  of  the  serious  drawback 
lying  in  the  circumstance  that  many  have  to  earn  their 
living  by  labour,  which  takes  them  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
missionaries  and  Christian  instruction  for  several  months 
cf  the  year." 

The  work  on  the  Moskito  coast,  in  spite  of  the  greatest 
obstacles,  is  encouraging  : — ■ 

'•Here  our  brethren  minister  in  the  Gospel  to  1031 
persons  belonging  to  our  Church,  of  whom  528  are  Indians, 
and  the  rest  mostly  Creoles.  At  Blewfields  some  300 
persons  in  addition  attend  regularly,  but  do  not  join  our 
Church.-  Schools  have  made  progress  in  the  last  decade. 
There  has  been  no  marked  pressing  forward  towards  the 
fold  of  the  true  Shepherd  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  ;  but  at 
some  places  a  powerful  interest  in  the  Gospel  has  been 
manifested,  and  has  lasted  for  some  time ;  this  was 
especially  the  case  among  the  Tungla  tribe  on  the  Prince 
Apolca  River,  and  at  Ephrata  with  its  adjacent  station,  at 
Kukalaya  and  Karata.  Both  of  these  have  been  com- 
menced within  the  last  few  years,  the  latter  in  consequence 
of  the  generous  gift  of  ;^iooo  of  our  friend,  Mrs.  Hall,  of 
Bristol,  who  had  previously  devoted  some  years  of  her 
life  to  missionary  work  in  the  Moskito  territory  in  co-nnec- 
tion  with  our  brethren, 

"  Political  disquietude,  in  consequence  of  Nicaragua's 
attempts  to  obtain  possession  of  the  Moskito  country,  since 
Great  Britain  withdrew  from  the  protectorate,  has  marked 
this  decade,  but  the  Lord  has  graciously  warded  off  any 
act  of  violence.  A  constitutional  government  has  been 
introduced,  at  the  head  of  which  was  a  young  king*  or 
chief,  whose  early  education  was  received  in  the  house  of 
one  of  our  missionaries.     The  good  promise,  which  there 


to 


APPENDIX.  381 

was  good  reason  for  entertaining  at  his  accession,  has  not 
been  fulfilled,  as  he  has  fallen  a  victim  to  habits  of 
intoxication.  Another  serious  hindrance  in  the  progress  of 
the  work  has  been  the  continued  evil  influence  of  traders, 
who  frequent  the*  country  in  considerable  numbers  to 
procure  india-rubber,  tortoise-shell,  deer-skins,  &c. 

"In  spite  of  tliese  drawbacks,  the  brethren  report  that 
the  number  of  the  real  living  Church  members  is  on  the 
increase,  and  that  the  young  people  are  showing  more 
longing  for  the  salvation  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  more 
growth  in  divine  knowledge."* 

It  will  be  inferred  from  what  has  been  said  that  the 
Moravians  aim,  not  only  at  planting  churches  amongst  the 
native  peoples,  but  at  forming  them  into  Christian  com- 
munities, directed  according  to  strict  rules  and  principles 
by  which  good  order  and  habits  of  industry  are  formed  and 
fostered.  This  kind  of  work,  at  centres  from  which  no 
great  iclat  can  be  expected,  is  precisely  of  the  character 
that  should  not  only  draw  out  the  practical  sympathy 
of  other  Christian  denominations,  but  the  active  and 
substantial  aid  of  governments  in  a  far  greater  degree  than 
it  has  hitherto  done. 

Nor  should  we,  in  any  account  however  summary,  omit 
mention  of  the  Lepers'  Hospital  at  Jerusalem,  in  which 
an  heroic  work  has  been  done.  The  annual  cost  amounts 
only  to  about  ^300.  Of  this  sum  we  learn  two-thirds 
have  been  raised  by  English  friends  and  one-third  by 
friends  in  Germany  and  Switzerland.  In  thirteen  years 
the  brethren  and  sisters  there  have  continued  at  their 
repulsive  "  labour  of  love  "  unremittingly,  till  the  health  of 
Brother  and  Sister  Tappe  broke  down  under  the  strain 
— and  little  wonder. 

We  have  been  particularly  depressed  at  the  struggles 
which  the  Brethren  have  had  financially  with  an  increasing 
deficit  for  the  past  few  years — a  mere  trifle  of  _;^4ooo — - 
which,  however,  is  enough  to  hamper  them  and  greatly  to 
paralyse  their  activity.  We  gladly  note  a  paragraph  to 
the  following  effect  in  one  of  the  last  reports  : — 

*  From  Report  of  the  Directing  Board  to  the  General  Synod  of  1879. 


3!52  APPENDIX. 

'*  Very  truly  FINANCIAL  RELIEF  for  our  burdened  Trea. 
sury  has  recently  been  afforded  us,  for  which  we  desire  to 
ask  our  friends  to  unite  with  us  in  praising  God.  Some 
years  ago  a  Christian  nobleman  in  Germany,  with  princely 
liberality,  handed  over  a  large  sum  ^f  money  for  our 
missions,  in  which  he  took  great  interest.  A  portion  of 
this  amount  was  destined  for  the  pensions  of  retired  mis- 
sionaries, but  conditions  were  attached  to  this  gift  which 
prohibited  its  being  made  use  of  until  the  present'  year. 
The  interest  on  the  capital,  which  has  been  accumulated 
by  the  will  of  the  donor,  now  amounts  to  more  than  ^looo, 
and  will  appear  for  the  first  time  in  the  financial  statement 
for  the  current  year  (1879)." 

But  abundant  room  will  still  remain  for  members  of  other 
Christian  Churches  to  extend  some  aid  and  sympathy  to 
this  oldest  of  Missionary  Churches,  which,  on  the  testimony 
of  impartial  witnesses,  including  Mr.  Andrew  Wilson,  author 
of  the  "Abode  of  Snow"  (and  not  even  excluding  Dr. 
Rinek  !)  does  so  well  deserve  it. 


APPENDIX  II. 

SOME   FURTHER    FACTS   ABOUT   ZEISBERGER. 

Zeisberger's  method  of  dealing  with  the  Indians,  as  we 
have  seen,  involved  two  distinct  ends  :  first,  conversion  to 
the  Christian  religion,  and  next  the  establishment  of  settled 
communities,  separated  as  far  as  could  be  from  heathen 
influence.  It  has  recently  been  urged  against  many  species 
of  missionary  work  that  baits  of  self-interest  and  ease  are 
held  out  to  the  heathen  to  be  baptized,  in  order  to  swell 
the  agent's  returns.  It  is  evident  that  Zeisberger  scorned 
any  such  devices  as  these.  A  mere  glance  at  the  rules  he 
drew  up  for  the  government  of  Indian  Christian  com- 
munities  will   show  that  there  was    little    temptation   put 


APPENDIX.  383 

forward  by  him  to  the  Indian  in  the  direction  of  self-interest 
or  ease.  Let  our  readers  cast  such  a  glance  as  we  have 
suggested  over  these  Rules — 

1.  We  will  know  of  no  other  God,  nor  worship  any 
other,  but  Him  who  has  created  us,  and  redeemed  us  with 
His  most  precious  blood. 

2.  We  will  rest  from  all  labour  on  Sundays,  and  attend 
the  usual  meetings  on  that  day  for  divine  service. 

3.  We  will  honour  father  and  mother,  and  support  them 
in  age  and  distress. 

4.  No  one  shall  be  permitted  to  dwell  with  us  without 
the  consent  of  our  teachers. 

5.  No  thieves,  murderers,  drunkards,  adulterers,  and 
whoremongers  shall  be  suffered  among  us. 

6.  No  one  that  attendeth  dances,  sacrifices,  or  heathen- 
ish festivals  can  live  among  us. 

7.  No  one  using  Tschappich  (or  witchcraft)  in  hunting 
shall  be  suffered  among  us. 

8.  We  will  renounce  all  juggles,  lies,  and  deceits  of 
Satan. 

g.  We  will  be  obedient  to  our  teachers,  and  to  the 
helpers  (national  assistants),  who  are  appointed  to  see  that 
good  order  be  kept  both  in  and  out  of  the  town. 

10.  We  will  not  be  idle  and  lazy,  nor  tell  lies  of  one 
another,  nor  strike  each  other ;  we  will  live  peaceably 
together. 

1 1.  Whosoever  does  any  harm  to  another's  cattle,  goods, 
or  effects,  &c.,  shall  pay  the  damage. 

12.  A  man  shall  have  only  one  wife,  love  her  and  pro- 
vide for  her  and  the  children.  Likewise  a  woman  shall 
have  but  one  husband,  and  be  obedient  unto  him  ;  she  shall 
also  take  care  of  the  children,  and  be  cleanly  in  all  things. 

13.  We  will  not  permit  any  rum  or  spirituous  liquor  to 
be  brought  into  our  towns.  If  strangers  or  traders  happen 
to  bring  any,  the  helpers  (national  assistants)  are  to  take  it 
into  their  possession,  and  to  take  care  not  to  deliver  it  to 
them  until  they  set  off  again. 

14.  None  of   the    inhabitants   shall    run    in    debt   with 


3S4  APPENDIX. 

traders,  nor  receive  goods  on  commission  for  traders,  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  national  assistants. 

15.  No  one  is  to  go  on  a  journey,  or  long  hunt,  without 
informing  the  minister  or  stewards  of  it. 

1 6.  Young  people  are  not  to  marry  without  the  consent 
of  their  parents  and  taking  their  advice. 

17.  If  the  stewards  or  helpers  apply  to  the  inhabitants 
for  assistance  in  doing  work  for  the  benefit  of  the  place, 
such  as  building  meeting  and  school-houses,  cleaning  and 
fencing  lands,  &c.,  they  are  to  be  obedient. 

1 8.  All  necessary  contributions  for  the  public  ought 
cheerfully  to  be  attended  to. 

19.  No  man  inclining  to  go  to  war,  which  is  the  shedding 
of  blood,  can  remain  among  us. 

20.  Whosoever  purchases  goods  or  articles  of  warriors, 
knowing  at  the  time  that  such  have  been  stolen  or 
plundered,  must  leave  us.  We  look  upon  this  as  giving 
encouragement  to  murder  and  theft. 

Many  very  striking  anecdotes  of  rescue  from  danger 
might  have  been  added  to  those  given  in  the  text,  room 
must  here  be  found  for  the  following  ; — 

"  On  one  of  his  journeys  Zeisberger  and  his  companions 
experienced  a  remarkable  preservation.  They  were  kindly 
entertained  by  a  white  trader  who  spread  a  quantity  of 
straw  on  the  floor  of  an  apartment  for  them  to  sleep  upon. 
He  warned  them  that  several  barrels  of  gunpowder  were  in 
this  room,  one  or  two  of  which  were  open  ;  and  they  retired 
to  rest,  leaving  the  candle  on  the  outside.  A  traveller, 
however,  who  accompanied  them  prevailed  on  their  host  to 
allow  him  the  candle  to  examine  and  dress  a  wound  in  his 
foot,  promising  to  put  it  out  as  soon  as  he  had  finished  his 
operation.  The  missionaries  reminded  him  to  beware  of  the 
danger,  but,  being  much  fatigued,  lay  down  and  fell  asleep. 
The  traveller  also,  being  weary,  fell  asleep  and  left  the  light 
burning.  In  the  morning  Zeisberger  called  his  brother 
missionary  out  of  the  house  into  the  wood,  and  showed  him 
the  candle.  '  My  brother,'  said  he,  '  had  we  not  had  on  us 
the  eye   of  Him   who   never   slumberetU   nor  sleepeth,  we 


APFEIfDIX.  385 

should  all  have  this  night  been  blown  into  the  air,  and  no 
one  would  have  known  how  it  happened.  I  slept  soundly, 
being  extremely  fatigued,  and  was  in  my  first  sleep,  when  I 
felt  as  if  some  one  raised  me  with  a  violent  shake.  I  sat 
up,  and  saw  the  wick  of  the  candle  hanging  down  on  one 
side  in  a  flame,  and  the  burning  candle  on  the  point  of  fall- 
ing into  the  straw,  which  I  was  just  in  time  to  prevent. 
After  that  I  could  not  fall  asleep  again,  but  lay  silently 
thanking  the  Lord  for  the  extraordinary  preservation  we 
had  experienced,  one  fit  of  shuddering  after  another  seizing 
my  whole  frame  when  I  reflected  on  our  danger." 

In  Heckewelder's  "Narrative  of  the  Mission  of  the  United 
Brethren  among  the  Delaware  and  Mohegan  Indians"  we 
find  the  following  sketch  of  Zeisberger,  which  we  here  present 
chiefly  for  the  portrait,  and  the  record  of  personal  traits  : — 

"  Having  once  devoted  himself  to  this  service,  from  the 
most  voluntary  choice  and  the  purest  motives,  he  steadily 
pursued  his  object — the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  his 
fellow-men.  Never  was  he  so  happy  as  when  he  had  ground 
for  believing  that  his  endeavours  had  been  the  means  of 
converting  one  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  ways,  and  lead- 
ing him  to  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  This, 
in  his  estimation,  was  of  far  higher  value  than  if  he  had 
acquired  possession  of  the  whole  world.  It  may  be  said 
with  truth  that  he  watched  over  his  Indian  flock  with  the 
solicitude  of  a  parent  and  cherished  them  as  a  nurse  doth 
her  children.  He  followed  them  in  all  their  wanderings, 
cheerfully  bearing  with  them  the  heat  and  burden  of  the 
day,  and  during  the  last  forty  years  of  his  life  he  was  never, 
at  any  one  time,  six  months  absent  from  his  charge. 

*'  He  was  blessed  with  a  cool,  active,  and  intrepid  spirit, 
unappalled  by  danger,  and  with  a  sound  judgment  and  clear 
discernment.  He  was  therefore  very  seldom  taken  by 
surprise,  and  was  generally  prepared  to  meet  and  to  over- 
come difficulties.  If  once  convinced  that  he  was  in  the 
path  of  duty,  he  patiently  submitted  to  every  hardship,  and 
with  firm  fortitude  endured  the  severest  sufferings.  In  the 
course  of  a  long  life  spent  among  savages  he  was  exposed 
to  many  privations,  and  at  times  suffered  persecution  from 

2  B 


386  APPENDIX. 

the  enemies  of  divine  truth,  who  more  than  once  sought  his 
life.  But  none  of  these  things  dismayed  him  ;  they  rather 
increased  his  zeal  in  the  Lord's  cause,  and  in  more  instances 
than  one  has  he  had  the  pleasure  of  baptizing  Indians  who 
not  long  before  had  lifted  up  the  hatchet  to  murder  him.  At 
the  same  time  he  was  of  a  humble  and  meek  spirit,  and 
always  thought  lowly  of  himself.  He  was  a  most  affection- 
ate husband  ;  a  faithful  and  never-failing  friend ;  and  every 
lineament  of  his  character  showed  a  sincere,  upright,  bene- 
volent, and  generous  soul,  with  perhaps  as  few  blemishes 
as  can  be  expected  in  the  best  men  on  this  side  the  grave. 

"  In  the  evening  of  his  days,  when  his  faculties  began  to 
fail  him,  his  desire  to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ  in- 
creased. At  the  same  time  he  awaited  his  dissolution  with 
uniform,  calm,  and  dignified  resignation  to  the  will  of  his 
Maker,  and  in  the  sure  and  certain  hope  of  exchanging  this 
world  for  a  better.  His  last  words  were,  '  Lord  Jesus,  I 
pray  Thee  come  and  take  my  spirit  to  Thyself  ! '  And  again, 
•  Thou  hast  never  yet  forsaken  me  in  any  trial,  Thou  wilt 
not  forsake  me  now.'  A  very  respectable  company  attended 
his  funeral.  The  solemn  service  was  performed  in  tlie 
English,  the  Delaware,  and  German  languages,  to  suit  the 
different  auditors.  Two  sermons  were  preached  from  Rev. 
xii.  1 1,  and  Prov.  x.  7. 

*'  Zeisberger  was  a  man  of  low  stature,  yet  well-propor- 
tioned, of  a  cheerful  countenance,  and  endowed  with  a  good 
understanding.  He  was  a  friend  and  benefactor  to  man- 
kind, and  justly  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  who  could 
appreciate  genuine  worth.  His  words  were  few,  and  never 
known  to  be  wasted  at  random  or  used  in  an  unprofitable 
manner.  Plain  in  his  habits,  temperate  in  all  things,  he 
generally  enjoyed  good  health,  and  lived  to  an  advanced  age. 

"  He  made  himself  complete  master  of  two  of  the  Indian 
languages,  the  Onondago  and  the  Delaware,  and  acquired 
some  knowledge  of  several  others.  Of  the  Onondago 
he  composed  two  grammars,  one  written  in  English, 
the  other  in  German.  He  likewise  compiled  a  dic- 
tionary of  the  Delaware  language,  which  in  the  manu- 
script contained  seventeen  hundred  pages.    Nearly  thewliole 


APPr^YDIX.  3S7 

of  the  manuscript  was  lost  at  the  burning  of  the 
settlements  on  the  Muskingum.  A  spelling-book  in  the 
same  language  has  passed  through  several  editions.  A 
volume  of  sermons  to  children,  and  a  hymn-book  containing 
upwards  of  five  hundred  hymns,  chiefly  translations  from 
the  English  and  German  hymn-books  in  use  in  the 
Brethren's  Church,  have  also  been  published  in  the  Dela- 
ware (or  Lenape)  language.  He  left  behind  him,  in  manu- 
script, a  grammar  of  the  Delaware  language,  written  in 
German,  and  a  translation  into  the  same  language  of 
Lieberkuehn's  '  Harmony  of  the  Four  Gospels.'  The  former 
of  these  works  has  since  been  translated  into  English  for 
the  American  Philosophical  Society,  by  P.  S.  Du  Ponceau  of 
Philadelphia ;  and  the  Female  Auxiliary  Missionary  Society 
of  Bethlehem  undertook  the  publication  of  the  'Harmony.'  " 
As  a  curiosity  in  its  own  way,  we  may  add  here  Zeis- 
berger's  translation  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  into  the  Delaware 
language  : — Ki  Wetochemelenk,  talli  epian  Awossagame. 
Machelendasutsch  KtellewunsowoaganKsakimawoagan  peje- 
wigetsch.  Ktelite  hewoagan  legetsch  talli  Achquidhacka- 
mike,  elgiqui  leek  talli  Awossagame.  Milineen  elgisch- 
quik  gunigischuk  Achpoan.  Woak  miwelendammauwineen 
'n  Tschannauchsowoagannene  eliqui  niluna  miwelendam- 
mauwenk  nik  Tschetschanilawequengik.  Woak  katschi 
'npawuneen  li  Achquetschiechtowoaganiing,  tschukund 
Ktennieen  untschi  Medhickiing.  Aloa  Knihillatamen 
Ksakimawoagan,  woak  Ktallewussowoagan,  woak  Ktallo- 
wiliissowoagan,  ne  wuntschi  hallemiwi  li  hallamagamik. 
Amen  1 


APPENDIX  IIL 

THE    BECHUANAS. 

Since  our  sketch  of  Dr.  Moffat  and  his  work  was  written, 
the  venerable  missionary  has  given  the  following  sketch 
of  the  labours  of  himself  and  his  fellow-missionaries  among 
the  Bechuanas.  We  have  much  pleasure  in  reproducing  it 
here  in  a  slightly  condensed  form: — 


388  APPENDIX. 

IN  BECHUANA  LAND.— By  the  Rev. 
Robert  Moffat,  D.D, 

The  name  Bechuana  or  Bachuana,  or,  as  latterly  written, 
Bechwana  or  Bachvvana,  includes  all  the  tribes  speaking 
the     Sechuana     language.       There     have     been     various 
opinions  as  to  its  origin.      Ba  or  Be  is  a  personal  pronoun, 
when  the  adverb  chivana  is  applied  to  persons,  and  thus, 
according  to   some,   they  are  alike  or  the  same   kind    of 
people.      Others  have  supposed  that  the  name  is  derived 
from  nchu,  black,  the  diminutive  of  which  would  be  chivana, 
meaning  a  little  black,  and  applied  to  a  person,  Mochvvana, 
one  dark-coloured — not  blaclc.     Mo  is  the  prefix   to    the 
singular  numbsr,  and  Ba  to  the  plural,   when  persons  are 
spoken  of.     All  the  tribes  have  the  prefix  Ba,  whatever  be 
the   name  by    which    they   are    distinguished.     Some   are 
named    after    certain    animals,    from    which    it    has    been 
supposed  that  at  some  distant  period  they  were  addicted  to 
the  worship  of  animals,  like  the  ancient  Egyptians.      For 
example,   we  have  the   Batlhapi,  the  tribe  to   which   the 
Gospel  was  first  sent  ;  Ba-tlhapi,  they  fish,  or,  of  the  fish  ; 
Ba-khatla,   they  of  the    monkey  ;  JBakuena,   they  of  the 
crocodile ;  Bataii,  they  of  the  lion.     When  an  individual 
is  asked  to  what  tribe  he  belongs,  sometimes  the  question 
will  be.  What  do  you  dance  ?     The  reply  will  be,  Kea  bina 
kwena,  or  whatever  the  tribe  may  be.      It  is  said  they  hate 
these  animals  by  which  they  are  named,  and  dread  killing 
them. 

The  Bechuana  tribes  were  first  visited  by  missionaries  at 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  Many  long  years, 
however,  passed  over  before  any  important  result  was 
attained.  They  did  not  want  the  Gospel — they  hardly 
wanted  the  missionaries,  and  sometimes  wished  to  drive 
them  away.  The  customs  and  superstitions  in  which  they 
and  their  forefathers  had  been  brought  up,  they  did  not 
wish  to  abandon,  for  they  considered  them  to  be  altogether 
good.  Their  character,  though  bad,  was  no  worse  than 
that  of  other  tribes  in  South  Africa.      They  were  brave  and 


APPENDIX.  389 

proud,  displayed  a  great  love  of  independence,  and  with  all 
tlieir  barbarousness  were  not  without  some  noble  senti- 
ments. But  their  minds  were  very  dark  and  their  hearts 
very  cruel  and  wicked. 

The  Bechuanas  had  no  idols,  no  temples,  no  altars,  and 
had  no  symbols  or  signs  of  any  form  of  heathen  worship.. 
No  fragments  existed  among  them  of  former  days,  as 
mementoes  to  succeeding  generations,  that  their  ancestors 
ever  loved,  served,  or  reverenced  a  being  greater  than  man. 
A  profound  silence  reigned  on  this  subject.  It  is  wonder- 
ful, as  showing  to  what  depths  the  human  spirit  may  be 
degraded,  that  Bechuanas,  Hottentots,  and  Bushmen  seem 
to  have  had  every  vestige  of  rehgious  impression  erased 
from  their  minds,  leaving  them  without  a  single  ray  to 
guide  them  in  the  dark  and  dismal  future,  or  a  single  link 
to  unite  them  with  the  skies.  Thus  the  missionary  could 
make  no  appeals  to  them  respecting  God  and  immortality, 
and  to  other  religious  ideas  which  mankind  generally  in 
some  form  entertain.  If  they  had  ever  had  a  religion,  it  had 
entirely  disappeared,  like  those  streams  in  the  wilderness 
which  lose  themselves  in  the  sand.  To  tell  even  the 
gravest  of  them  that  there  was  a  Creator,  the  Governor  of 
the  heavens  and  the  earth,  that  man  had  fallen  and  had 
been  redeemed  by  the  sacrifice  of  Christ ;  to  speak  to  them 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  of  immortality  and  eternal 
life,  was  to  address  them  on  matters  which  appeared  more 
fabulous  and  extraordinary  than  many  of  their  own 
extravagant  stories  about  lions,  hyenas,  and  jackals.  The 
influence  of  **  the  rain-maker "  over  the  people  was 
exceedingly  great  ;  but  although  they  recognised  in  his 
agency  what  they  supposed  to  be  a  mysterious  power,  yet 
this  in  no  sense  could  be  regarded  as  of  the  nature  of 
religion. 

In  their  intercourse  with  other  tribes  the  Bechuanas 
were  vindictive  and  treacherous.  Their  expeditions 
against  the  Bushmen  especially  were  characterised  by 
intense  ferocity  and  cruelty.  They  seemed  to  take  a 
pleasure  in  slaughter.  Many  of  their  wars  were  mere 
predatory    expeditions,     undo;  taken    for    the     purpose    of 


390  APPENDIX. 

destroying  the  villages  of  their  neighbours,  of  butchering 
their  inhabitants,  and  of  carrying  off  their  cattle.  In  their 
persons  they  were  very  filthy,  and  lubricated  their  bodies 
with  grease  and  red  ochre.  Indeed,  they  could  not  under- 
stand our  habits  of  cleanliness,  and  were  much  amused  at 
our  putting  our  legs,  feet,  and  arms  into  bags,  and  using 
buttons  for  the  purpose  of  fastening  bandages  around  our" 
bodies,  instead  of  suspending  them  as  ornaments  from  the 
neck  or  hair  of  the  head. 

A  great  obstacle  to  our  work  was  polygamy.  Any 
innovation  on  this  ancient  custom  was  looked  upon  with 
extreme  suspicion.  While  war,  hunting,  watching  the 
cattle,  milking  the  cows,  and  preparing  furs  and  skins  for 
mantles,  were  the  work  of  the  men,  the  women  had  by  far 
the  heavier  task  of  agriculture,  building  houses,  fencing, 
bringing  firewood,  and  the  like.  They  were,  therefore,  the 
drudges  of  their  haughty  and  lazy  husbands,  who  found 
them  too  useful  to  part  with  any  of  their  number.  During 
the  greater  part  of  the  year  they  were  constantly  employed 
in  laborious  work  of  many  kinds,  living  on  a  coarse  and 
scanty  fare,  and  having  a  baby  frequently  fastened  to  their 
backs  while  they  tilled  the  soil  or  performed  other  heavy 
manual  duties. 

After  remaining  among  the  Bechuanas  for  more  than  six 
years,  we  seemed  to  have  made  no  progress  at  all.  They 
had  by  this  time  become  perfectly  callous  and  indifferent  to 
all  instruction,  except  it  were  followed  by  some  temporal 
benefit.  Moreover,  they  seemed  to  regard  us  as  lawful 
prizes,  to  be  used  and  plundered  at  pleasure.  They  would 
rob  our  houses,  our  smith's  shop  and  garden,  and  would 
carry  off  our  cattle  from  the  field,  or  through  love  of 
mischief  would  drive  them  into  a  bog,  and  leave  them  to 
perish  there  or  to  be  eaten  by  wild  beasts.  Because  of  the 
scarcity  of  grain  and  vegetables,  we  lived  for  the  most  part 
on  animal  food.  Our  sheep  were  procured  from  a  distance, 
but  before  they  reached  us  we  generally  lost  a  considerable 
number  which  had  been  stolen  from  the  flock  on  the  way. 
They  would  break  their  legs,  cut  off  their  tails,  and 
frequently  carry  them  entirely  off.     Our  saws,  axes,  knives, 


APPENDIX.  391 

spoons,  they  especially  coveted  ;  and  very  often,  if  we 
went  away  from  the  spot  where  we  were  engaged  at  work, 
even  though  not  many  yards  distant,  we  had  to  take  all  our 
tools  with  us. 

Our  duties  at  this  time  were  exceedingly  heavy,  for  we 
had  to  do  nearly  everything  with  our  own  hands.  We 
built  our  houses  and  planted  our  gardens.  But  our 
labours  were  constantly  thwarted,  for,  when  we  had  dug  a 
trench  of  several  miles  for  irrigating  our  land,  the  water 
which  ran  into  it  from  the  Kuruman  river  would  be  diverted 
from  its  channel  by  the  natives  for  their  own  fields,  leaving 
us  without  a  drop  either  for  garden  or  household  purposes. 
Mr.  Hamilton  and  myself  have  had  to  watch  in  turn  the  whole 
night  in  order  to  save  the  few  vegetables  growing  in  our 
gardens  ;  and  when,  after  all  our  vigilance  and  labour,  we 
had  saved  what  was  so  necessary  to  our  health,  the  natives 
would  steal  them  by  day  as  well  as  by  night,  and,  after  a 
year's  toil  and  care,  we  scarcely  reaped  anything  to  reward 
us. 

During  these  earlier  years  the  few  people  who  attended 
public  worship  did  so  from  purely  interested  motives,  either 
to  receive  from  us  tobacco,  or  a  tool,  or  our  personal  help, 
or  some  other  favour.  They  very  often  manifested  the 
greatest  indecorum.  Some  would  snore,  others  would 
lausrh.  while  others  would  work  or  amuse  themselves  in 
a  manner  very  distressing  to  us  to  witness.  Never  having 
been  accustomed  to  chairs  or  stools,  some,  by  way  of 
imitation,  would  sit  with  their  feet  on  the  benches,  having 
their  knees,  according  to  their  usual  mode  of  sitting,  drawn 
up  to  their  chins.  In  this  posture  one  would  fall  asleep 
and  tumble  over,  to  the  great  merriment  of  his  fellows. 
Sometimes,  when  the  missionaries  were  absent  from  their 
homes  at  public  worship,  the  opportunity  would  be  em- 
braced to  pilfer  their  property.  Mr.  Hamilion  and  myself, 
when  we  met  in  the  evening,  had  almost  always  some  tale 
to  tell  of  our  losses,  but  never  of  our  gains,  except  those 
of  resignation  and  peace,  the  results  of  prayer,  patience, 
and  faith  in  the  unchangeable  purposes  of  God. 

The  prospects  of  the  mission  at  this  time  were  of  the 


& 


392  APPEXDIX. 

gloomiest  character,  and,  as  we  proceeded  in  our  work, 
appeared  to  become  darker  than  ever.  We  were  sus- 
pected of  befriending  the  Bushmen,  who  annoyed  the 
Bechuanas  incessantly  by  capturing  their  cattle  and 
killing  the  men  who  watched  over  them.  The  ground 
of  the  charge  was,  that  when  we  sent  our  men  to  assist 
in  retaking  the  cattle  driven  away,  we  enjoined  upon 
them  not  to  kill  the  Bushmen.  They  acknowledged  that 
we  wronged  no  man,  but  at  the  same  time  regarded  us  as 
the  authors  of  many  of  their  troubles,  and  as  the  causes 
of  the  drought  which  afflicted  the  land.  Everything 
wrong  done  by  a  Griqua,  while  hunting  in  the  country, 
was  thrown  in  our  teeth ;  and  if  any  one  of  the  natives 
felt  himself  aggrieved  during  a  visit  to  that  people  or  to 
the  South,  we  were  told  that  we  ought  to  have  prevented 
it.  To  reason  with  them  only  tended  to  arouse  their 
passions. 

But  now  heavy  judgments  came  upon  the  land,  which 
were  to  be  the  prelude  of  brighter  days.  War  and  blood- 
shed, drought  and  locusts,  devastated  the  country  and 
tamed  the  people,  making  them  more  inclined  than  they 
had  hitherto  been  to  listen  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 
This  was  at  first  manifest  by  an  increasing  number  of 
natives  coming  to 'the  mission  chapel,  and  by  the  greater 
attention  which  was  paid  to  the  words  of  the  preacher, 
as  well  as  by  the  readiness  with  which  many  answered 
the  questions  on  the  Bible  which  were  put  to  them. 
Towards  the  end  of  1828,  on  the  return  of  Mr.  Hamilton, 
who  had  visited  the  colony  for  a  season,  we  were  favoured 
with  the  manifest  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  from  on  high. 
The  moral  wilderness  was  now  about  to  blossom.  Cheeks 
bedewed  with  tears  attracted  our  observation.  To  see 
females  weep  was  nothing  extraordinary.  According  to 
Bechuana  notions,  it  was  their  province,  and  theirs  alone. 
In  family  or  national  afiflictions,  it  was  the  women's  work 
to  weep  and  wail.  But  men  would  not  weep.  They 
would  sit  in  sullen  silence  brooding  over  deeds  of  revenge 
and  death.  The  simple  Gospel  now  melted  their  flinty 
hearts ;  and  eyes  wept  which  never  before  shed   the  tear 


APPENDIX.  393 

of  hallowed  sorrow.  Our  temporary  little  chapel  became 
a  place  of  weeping  ;  and  the  sympathy  of  feeling  spread 
from  heart  to  heart.  The  chapel  became  crowded  with 
anxious  inquirers,  and  for  some  time  it  was  impossible 
to  maintain  order  or  even  decorum  among  them.  Those 
imder  concern  for  their  souls  held  prayer- meetings  from 
house  to  house;  so  that  the  sounds  predominant  through- 
out the  village,  instead  of  rioting  and  folly,  as  in  former 
times,  were  those  of  singing  and  prayer.  When  there 
were  none  able  to  engage  in  prayer,  they  sang  till  a  late 
hour,  and  before  morning  dawned  assembled  again  at 
some  house  for  worship,  and  then  went  forth  to  their 
daily  labour. 

The  first  converts  were  baptized  in  the  month  of  June 
1829.  They  had  given  very  satisfactory  proofs  of  a 
change  of  heart.  After  full  examination  separately,  they 
were  found  to  possess  a  much  larger  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures  than  had  been  anticipated.  Although  they 
had  long  listened  with  unbelieving  hearts,  and  often  with 
disgust,  their  memories  were  retentive — a  general  charac- 
teristic of  such  as  never  use  memoranda.  They  exhibited 
great  simplicity  of  faith,  and  an  implicit  reliance  on  the 
atonement  of  Christ,  of  which  they  appeared  to  have 
a  remarkably  clear  conception,  especially  when  we  re- 
membered the  darkness  of  their  minds  previously.  The 
new  chapel  and  schoolhouse  was  crowded  to  excess  on 
the  occasion,  and  the  greatest  interest  was  excited  by  the 
ceremony.  A  sermon  was  preached  on  John  i.  29, 
and  a  suitable  address  was  delivered  to  the  candidates. 
In  the  evening  we  united  with  them  in  celebrating  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  It  is  impossible  to 
describe  our  feelings  at  that  time. 

Our  joy  was  great.  But  we  rejoiced  with  trembling, 
for  we  knew  that  the  heathen  party  was  still  very  power- 
ful, and  would  probably  soon  display  a  violent  opposition 
to  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  among  the  Bechuanas. 
Being  satisfied,  however,  that  the  work  was  of  God,  we 
knew  that  it  was  under  His  guidance,  and  that  He  would 
not  sufi'er  it  to  be  impeded.      There  were  many  prejudices 


394  APPENDIX. 

yet  to  be  overcome.  The  relation  in  which  the  young 
converts  stood  to  their  heathen  neighbours  would  expose 
their  faith  to  trial.  The  excitement  in  the  village  would 
gradually  pass  away,  and  might  be  followed  by  a  re- 
action. 

Christianity  brought  with  it  civilisation — for  those  who 
embraced  the  new  religion  were  at  once  seized  with  the 
desire  to  reform  their  personal  habits  and  social  usages. 
Cleanliness  began  to  be  practised,  and  instead  of  be- 
smearing themselves  with  grease  they  washed  themselves 
with  water.  Ornaments  which  were  formerly  in  high 
repute  as  adorning,  but  more  frequently  disfiguring,  their 
persons,  were  now  turned  into  bullion  to  purchase  skins 
of  animals,  which,  being  prepared  almost  as  soft  as  cloth, 
were  made  into  jackets,  trousers,  and  gowns.  For  a 
long  period,  when  a  man  was  seen  to  make  a  pair  of 
trousers  for  himself,  or  a  woman  a  gown,  it  was  a  sure 
intimation  that  we  might  expect  additions  to  our  inquirers. 
Abandoning  the  custom  of  painting  the  body,  and  beginning 
to  wash  with  water,  was  with  them  what  cutting  off  the  hair 
was  among  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  a  public  renunciation 
of  heathenism.  Thus,  by  the  slow  but  certain  progress  of 
Gospel  principles,  whole  families  became  clothed  and  in 
their  right  mind.  In  their  eagerness  for  improvement  the 
people  sometimes  arrayed  themselves  in  grotesque  garbs. 
One  would  have  on  a  coat  of  many  colours;  another  would 
wear  a  jacket  with  only  one  sleeve,  because  the  other  was 
not  finished,  or  cloth  was  wanting  to  complete  it.  The 
people  were  now  anxious  to  learn  how  to  use  the  needle, 
and  to  make  garments ;  and  at  first  it  was  no  easy  matter 
for  them  to  do  this,  as  the  hands  of  many  were  hard  and 
horny  from  field-work,  and  the  tiny  needle  was  scarcely 
perceptible  to  their  touch.  Our  congregations  became  a 
variegated  mass  of  people  of  all  descriptions,  from  the 
lubricated  wild  man  of  the  desert,  to  the  clean,  com- 
fortable, and  well-dressed  believer.  It  was  the  work  of 
the  men  to  sew  and  prepare  garments.  I  never  saw  a 
woman  with  a  needle,  or  rather  bodkin,  with  which  the 
men   sew  with  great  neatness  and  skill. 


APPENDIX.  395 

Then  came  the  desk*  for  improvement  in  their  house- 
holds. Formerly  they  had  been  contented  with  sitting 
on  the  floors  of  their  huts,  eating  their  food  by  the  light 
of  flickering  wood  embers,  and  lying  down  to  sleep 
wrapped  in  their  mantles  which  they  had  worn  during 
the  day.  But  now  they  wished  to  have,  like  ourselves, 
chairs,  tables,  chests,  candles,  and  other  articles  con- 
tributing to  the  comfort  of  a  house.  These  they  came  to 
make  under  our  direction,  though  of  course  very  clumsily 
at  first.  It  is  singular,  however,  what  rapid  progress  in 
the  arts  of  civihsed  life  a  people  will  make  when  once  the 
desire  for  reformation  has  taken  thorough  possession  of 
them.  The  Bechuanas  were  like  men  waking  up  from 
a  long  sleep,  and  anxious  to  redeem  the  time  they  had 
lost.  They  began  to  take  great  interest  in  field  and 
garden  labour.  In  place  of  restricting  themselves  to 
their  native  grain  and  a  few  vegetables,  such  as  pumpkins, 
kidney-beans,  and  water-melons,  they  thankfully  accepted 
the  seeds  and  plants  of  grain  and  vegetables  we  had  intro- 
duced, namely,  of  maize,  wheat,  barley,  pease,  potatoes, 
carrots,  and  onions,  and  planted  fruit-trees  wherever  they 
could  irrigate.  There  was  also  a  demand  for  ploughs  and 
spades  for  the  proper  tilling  of  the  soil,  and  also  for 
bullock- waggons.  The  men  were  no  longer  too  proud 
to  put  their  hands  to  the  cultivation  of  the  ground,  but 
set  to  work  with  a  will ;  and  in  a  few  years  the  country  all 
around  was  smiling  with  fertility. 

The  most  pressing  want  of  these  awakened  Bechuanas 
was  now  the  Bible  in  their  own  tongue.  Having  finished 
a  translation  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke,  in  Sechuana,  I 
went  all  the  way  to  Cape  Town  for  the  purpose  of  having 
it  printed.  The  Governor  kindly  allowed  it  to  be  printed 
at  the  Government  press.  The  paper  was  supplied  by  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  A  small  hymn-book 
was  also  printed  in  the  same  language.  While  at  the 
Cape  I  learnt  the  art  of  printing  ;  and,  returning  to 
Kuruman,  brought  with  me  not  only  an  edition  of  the 
Gospel  and  of  the  hymn-book,  but  also  a  printing-press, 
and  a  supply  of  types,  paper,  and  ink.     Soon  the  press  was 


396  APPENDIX. 

put  into  operation,  and  catechisms,  spelling-books,  lesson- 
books,  and  other  works,  were  printed  for  the  schools.  This 
was  a  new  era  in  the  mission,  for  the  people  were  now 
being  taught  to  read,  and  were  becoming  thereby  more 
enlightened.  The  work  of  translation  was  a  slow  process, 
being  able  to  attend  to  it  only  at  intervals  ;  and  it  was 
not  until  aboirt  the  year  1840  that  I  had  completed  the 
entire  New  Testament  in  Sechuana.  Then  followed  the 
Psalms ;  and  afterwards,  at  intervals,  the  books  of  Pro- 
verbs, Ecclesiastes,  and  Isaiah.  In  1849  the  "Pilgrim's 
Progress "  was  in  circulation  among  the  Bechuanas  in 
their  own  language,  and  was  read  with  wonderful  avidity. 
Many  years  elapsed  before  the  entire  Bible  was  completed. 
I  felt  it  to  be  an  awful  work  to  translate  the  Book  of 
God  ;  and,  perhaps,  this  has  given  to  my  heart  the  habit 
of  sometimes  beating  like  the  strokes  of  a  hammer.  When 
I  had  finished  the  last  verse  I  could  hardly  believe  that 
I  was  in  the  world,  so  difficult  was  it  for  me  to  realise 
the  fact  that  my  work  of  so  many  years  was  completed. 
Whether  it  was  from  weakness  or  overstrained  mental 
exertion,  I  cannot  tell ;  but  a  feeling  came  over  me  as  if 
I  should  die,  and  I  felt  perfectly  resigned.  To  overcome 
this,  I  went  back  again  to  my  manuscript,  still  to  be 
printed,  read  it  over  and  re-examined  it,  till  at  length  I 
got  back  again  to  my  right  mind.  This  was  the  most 
remarkable  time  of  my  life,  a  period  which  I  shall  never 
forget.  My  feelings  found  vent  by  my  falling  upon  my 
knees,  and  thanking  God  for  His  grace  and  goodness  in 
giving  me  strength  to  accomplish  my  task. 

Meanwhile  the  people  of  Kuruman  and  the  neighbour- 
hood made  rapid  progress  in  Christian  knowledge  as  well 
as  in  civilisation.  My  colleague,  Mr.  Edwards,  who  had 
come  up  with  me  from  the  Cape,  and  his  excellent  wife, 
had  classes  for  instruction  in  reading.  Out-stations  were 
established,  and  a  rich  blessing  from  above  attended  all 
our  labours  at  every  place  where  the  Gospel  was  read  and 
preached.  The  natives  purchased  waggons,  and  clothed 
themselves  decently.  They  also  broke  in  oxen  for  labour 
in   the   fields  formerly  performed   by  their  wives.     A  new 


APPENDIX.  2^7 

and  spacious  chapel  was  erected,  and  v\hen  it  was  opened 
in  1838  between  eight  and  nine  hundred  Bechuanas 
assembled  together  for  the  worship  of  Jehovah.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  following  Sabbath  one  hundred  and  fiity 
persons  united  in  commemorating  the  dying  love  of  Him 
who  had  redeemed  them  by  His  blood,  and  brought  them 
by  His  providence  to  participate  in  this  heavenly  banquet. 
I  was  afterwards  joined  by  Mr.  Ashton,  who  rendered 
valuable  service  to  the  mission  in  many  ways  ;  but  he, 
after  long  service,  was  removed  to  the  station  at  Lekat- 
long.  His  place,  however,  was  filled  at  Kuruman  by  my 
son,  John  Moffat,  who  entered  on  his  work  there  in  the 
year  1866,  and  who  in  turn  has  been  removed  to  the 
station  once  occupied  by  Dr.  Livingstone,  and  latterly 
by  Mr.  Price,  now  of  the  Ujiji  or  Tanganyika  mission. 

Formerly,  travellers  among  the  Bechuanas  were  exposed 
to  great  danger.  Now  they  may  go  for  many  miles  in  all 
directions  without  fear  of  molestation.  A  considerable 
trade  has  sprung  up  between  these  tribes  and  Europeans 
from  the  Cape  colony ;  and  foreign  manufactured  goods 
of  the  value  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  are 
annually  imported  into  the  country,  and  exchanged  for  native 
produce.  There  was  no  commerce  or  barter  carried  on 
between  Europeans  and  the  Bechuana  tribes  at  the  com- 
mencement of  missions  among  them,  nor  could  they  be 
induced  to  trade,  till  through  the  Divine  blessing  converts 
were  made.  These  were  the  first  to  adopt  a  European 
dress.  During  the  previous  years  traders  came  as  far  as 
the  Kuruman  mission  station,  bringing  all  kinds  of  tempting 
articles  which  they  displayed  before  the  natives,  who  could 
not  be  made  to  see  either  comfort  or  beauty  in  them. 
These  men,  who  had  hoped  to  realise  a  profit  by  ostrich 
feathers,  ivory,  cattle,  &c.,  &c.,  could  only  dispose  of  a  few 
pounds  of  beads,  and  returned  some  hundreds  of  miles 
sadly  mortified.  The  example  set  by  our  first  converts 
approved  itself  to  others,  and  it  being  entirely  out  of  our 
power  to  supply  them  with  what  was  required,  having  but 
a  scanty  supply  for  our  own  wants,  they  were  instructed  to 
make  dresses  from  skins  prepared  for  the  purpose,  and  in 


393  APPENDIX. 

u'hich  they  made  a  very  respectable  appearance.  They 
had  an  example  in  Mrs.  Hamilton  and  myself,  who 
generally  wore  parts  of  our  dress  of  the  same  material. 
It  was  soon  found  necessary  to  apply  for  a  merchant  to 
come  and  settle  on  the  station. 

The  Gospel  has  thus  changed  the  moral  aspect  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  Bechuana  tribes,  and  its  gracious 
influence  has  been  felt  among  the  Bakwaries,  Baman- 
guatos,  as  far  even  as  the  distant  Matabeles  ;  and  many 
true  believers  in  Christ  are  to  be  found  not  merely  in 
Kuruman,  but  also  in  many  other  parts  of  the  country. 
Heathenism  still  exists  in  some  places,  but  it  is  gradually 
dying  out,  and  giving  place  to  Christianity.  Education  is 
spreading,  and  young  men  are  being  trained  as  preachers 
and  teachers.  The  people  are  very  fond  of  their  Bibles, 
which  they  study  most  diligently,  and  also  take  great 
delight  in  the  singing  of  hymns.  And  they  have  never 
lost  the  pleasure  of  attending  the  public  services  in  the 
mission  chapels,  where  they  assemble  together  with  singular 
regularity.  But  they  need  more  depth  of  knowledge,  which 
1  trust  they  are  gradually  receiving. 


530  BROAD-WAY,  NE^V  YOEK, 

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good  part  from  notes  taken  by  the  author  from  his  distinguished  father's  lectures, 
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